Set procedure followed in appointment of new Army Chief: Manohar Parrikar

General Bipin Rawat was appointed as the 27th Chief of Army Staff on Dec 31

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday asserted that a set procedure was followed in General Bipin Rawat's appointment as the Army Chief.

"A set procedure was followed. There was no seniority principal or it would've merely been a date based computer job," said Parrikar while speaking at Ministry of Defence's 'Swachhta Pakhwada' here in the national capital.

General Rawat took over as the 27th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) last Saturday on December 31.

An inevitable controversy had erupted after the government's announcement of General Rawat as the army chief with opposition parties accusing the government of politicising the appointment by abandoning the traditional criterion of seniority.

General Rawat, who took over as Vice-Chief of Army Staff in September 2016, bypassed Eastern Commander Lt. Gen Praveen Bakshi (Armoured Corps) and Southern Commander Lieutenant General P M Hariz (Mechanised Infantry) to bag the coveted post.

General Rawat has remarkable experience of serving in combat areas and at various functional levels in the Indian Army over the last three decades.