Gen VK Singh Retires, Ending Controversial Tenure


Bangalore:  Finally it is time for General V.K. Singh to retire his 42 years of Army service. He has made multiple opinions in the minds of people when he ends up his military service. His service especially after he took over the post Army chief on 31 March 2010 was filled with many controversies. However the controversies followed him in his tenure made him one of the most popular Army Chiefs of India.

V.K. Singh will hand over his power to Eastern Army Commander General Bikram Singh, who will have tenure of two years and three months.

'Let him retire peacefully,' is what Defence Minister A.K. Antony is believed to have told some defence ministry officials, upset over the latest controversy following V.K. Singh's television interviews on his last weekend in office, As the agency reported.

The Army chief many a time found place in the news headlines. The list of controversies starts right from his false date of birth.  As per military records, V.K. Singh had two dates of birth (May 10, 1950 and May 10, 1951) one in the Military Secretary Branch and the other in the Adjutant General's Branch. When the dispute over the correct date of birth between him and government reached Supreme Court, he became the first serving officer of the Indian Army to take the government to court. At the end of the case the Supreme Court refused to accept his contention that 1951 was his year of birth.

Before the flames of the age controversy calmed down, he soon found place in headlines again. This time it was an allegory over a bribery offering made by a retired Lieutenant General for clearing a deal for procuring "sub-standard" Tatra trucks. The issue was raised when he claimed in an interview that he was offered Rs 14 crore bribery in 2010 by the retired officer.

With IANS Inputs