Congress attacks Modi over new Army Chief

The Congress on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain the circumstances behind the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat as the new Army Chief superseding seniors.

"We would like to ask the Prime Minister what was the compelling reason why this supersession has taken place. Why the principle of seniority, which has held now for almost two decades, was not respected," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told a press conference here.

"Is it that these officers who have been superseded were unqualified in any manner or is it whimsical cherry-picking which has been done by the BJP-led government?

"Not only is this supersession unprecedented, probably this has happened for the first time that three senior Generals (Commanding different armies) have been superseded," Tewari added.

The government on Saturday appointed Lt. Gen. Rawat as the new Army Chief and Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa as the new chief of the Indian Air Force.

The appointment of Lt. Gen. Rawat has ignored the seniority of Eastern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz who have spent longer years in service.

"It is not the first time this government has done this. The appointment or the non-appointment of a full-time Enforcement Director, the ad-hoc appointment in the CBI, which has been questioned by the Supreme Court, is an extremely serious matter which shows this government has scant regard for institutional integrity.

"Why is there a delay in the notification for the next Chief Justice of India?"

Chief Justice T.S. Thakur is retiring on January 3. The government is yet to announce the next Chief Justice.

--IANS

rs/mr/py/dg