A day after resigning as Navy Chief, Admiral DK Joshi on Thursday said that he takes responsibility for mishaps involving warships in the recent past and the decision to quit was his own.
In a message to his senior colleagues, Joshi, who came to office in South Block here for a short while, said he had only consulted his wife before taking the decision to resign. “I consulted only myself and my wife before taking the decision to resign. After the submarine mishap, I was firm that I should take the responsibility for it,” he said in an internal message to senior Navy officers.
In his resignation letter to Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday, he had said though the Government continued to repose faith in his capabilities, it was becoming untenable for him to continue as the head of Navy in terms of accountability. At least 11 mishaps involving warships were reported in the last seven months after major accident on board INS Sindhurakshak in August last year.
When asked why he promptly accepted Joshi’s resignation, Antony said here on Thursday, the Navy Chief wanted to resign from immediate affect. “I am sad about the development. Joshi met me personally on Wednesday and handed over the resignation letter and urged me to accept it with immediate affect,” the minister said.
Joshi suggested Vice Chief of Navy Vice Admiral R. Dhowan’s name as the officiating chief till the government appoints a new Chief, Antony said adding the Navy Chief was upset over the mishap on board INS Sindhuratna.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said Western Command chief Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha has been summoned to Delhi to meet Antony. The two major mishaps involving submarines INS Sindhurakshak and INS Sindhuratna took place under his command.
Incidentally, Sinha is the senior most in the Navy after Joshi and is also in the race for the top job. As per the present seniority list, Dhowan comes next followed by Eastern Command chief Anil Chopra. Sinha retires in August this year while Dhowan in May while Chopra’s retirement is due in March next year. If Joshi, who had 15 months of tenure left, had not resigned, Southern Command chief Vice Admiral Satish Soni was tipped to be the next chief.
Antony has also cancelled his visit to Goa where he was supposed to inaugurate a shore-based take-off facility for Indian Navy’s fighter aircraft such as the MiG 29Ks and the light Combat Aircraft later this week.