An embattled general VK Singh is facing hostility from a procrastinating government. According to a news report published in the Hindustan Times, General Singh has told the defence secretary that he believes he is being treated in a manner as if he were the army chief of Pakistan. This is for the first time in Independent India that an army chief has made such a harsh statement.

Two different dates of birth exist in army records for the army chief: May 10, 1950 and May 10, 1951. If the defence ministry accepts May 10, 1951 as his date of birth as contended by the army chief, he would then be entitled to an extra year in office before he retires. While the government is worried about the general moving court, it keeps sitting over the issue all this while.

Do you believe that the government’s studied silence is actually camouflaged hostility to the army chief?

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Governance Now Headlines: Army chief in controversy