J K News Today
New Delhi, December 18 ( JKNT) A big controversy has kicked off over the appointment of Lt. Gen Bipin Rawat as the new army chief for the government has appointed him to the top post superseding two army commanders.
Gen Rawat is junior to Lt. Gen. Pravin Bakshi and Lt. Gen P M Hazir, General officer Commanding in chief of Eastern and Southern Commands of the Indian army . This is the controversy as many have raised eyebrows within the army and outside of it such a rare of rare supersession in the armed forces.
Political parties too have picked up holes in the process of the selection of a junior commander to the top post of the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS) succeeding Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag . Their argument is that the proper selection process has not been followed and the respect for seniority has been give a go by.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said while every organisation has its own decorum, there is respect for seniority. “We don’t question the new chief Lieutenant General Rawat’s abilities but the question arises why senior people were superseded and the fourth in line has been named as new Army chief,” Tiwari added.
CPI leader D Raja said it was unfortunate that the appointments in the army, CVC (Chief Vigilance Commissioner) and other top level appointment have become controversial.
“The army belongs to the whole country… the government should answer how these appointment have been made,” Raja said, adding that the nation should be “convinced” about the appointment.
The BJP hit back, saying questioning the appointment of the next army chief by political parties was not patriotic. The party’s spokesperson, GVL Narasimha Rao said such comments will “hurt the morale” of the armed forces. “We condemn the attempt to drag armed forces into political arena… These comments are something that no political that believes in patriotism should indulge in,” Mr Rao added.
The appointment of Lt Gen Rawat had been done by skipping Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, the seniormost army commander who heads the Eastern Command and PM Hariz, the chief of Southern Command.
Sources in the government said Lt Gen Rawat was found to be the most suitable to deal with the current challenges- cross-border terror, the proxy war from the west, and the situation in the northeast.
Lt Gen Rawat, they said, has served in combat areas over the last three decades. He has more than a decade’s experience in counter insurgency operations and deployment along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
