EC to decide on appointment of Army chief next week

The jury is still out on India’s next Army chief. While the defence ministry has secured all clearances for Dalbir Singh Suhag, the next in line for the post of chief of Army staff, including a second clearance from the Central Bureau of Investigation in a case in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is demanding an inquiry, the Election Commission has said it will consider the issue of the appointment at a meeting next week. “We have received a reference from the defence ministry and the issue is under examination. But no decision has been taken. The matter has not been placed on the agenda of the ‘full commission’ (the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners),” said an Election Commission official. “The meeting could take place on Monday or Tuesday, and the matter will be considered.” It is expected the new Army chief will be named next week.

The Election Commission will consider the matter in the light of its March 27 order that appointments, promotions, tenders and procurements of defence forces aren’t covered under its model code of conduct for the elections. The BJP’s complaint that the government was rushing through the appointment will also be considered.

Amid strong opposition by the BJP, the government had referred the matter to the Election Commission, saying any decision would be taken only after securing its nod. “The matter is before the Election Commission. We want to strictly follow all the procedures before taking any final decision on the issue,” Defence Minister AK Antony had said on Friday.

On why the ministry had taken up the matter with the Election Commission early this week despite the commission’s March 27 order in this regard, senior ministry sources said such matters were important and it was felt the approval of all authorities concerned should be secured.

The BJP has been saying the appointment of the next Army chief shouldn’t be hurried, adding the matter should be left to the next government. BJP member and former Army chief VK Singh has been one of the prominent ones opposing the Congress’s moves in this regard.

Singh’s daughter is married to the son of A K Singh, the second in line for the Army chief’s post. If Suhag’s name is knocked off, A K Singh will stand to gain.

Earlier, it was alleged an intelligence unit under the Army’s 3 Corps had harassed and stolen from a businessman based in Jorhat, Assam. The brother of a man allegedly killed by the same unit had approached the high court in Imphal; his petition named Suhag as the commander under whom three persons were allegedly abducted and tortured to death by the intelligence unit. However, sources in the defence ministry said at the time of these incidents (March 2010), Suhag was not in charge of the unit, effectively clearing him of the accusations and paving the way for his promotion to the post of Army chief.