After his party moved the Election Commission to stop the Government from making certain key appointments, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday asked the President Pranab Mukherjee not to give his nod to the appointment of new Army chief, saying it will “politicise” the office and “demoralise” the forces.
In a letter to President, the BJP leader said, “The timing of this proposed announcement will, inter alia, ensure that the COAS (Chief of Army Staff) office is politicised and the armed forces demoralised.“The present Government’s endeavour to announce the next COAS is in direct contravention to the established convention, both in terms of time frame and also with regards to certain ongoing investigations that are currently before the judicial system.
“It is widely believed by the rank and file of the Army that the appointment is being pushed through ahead of time at the behest of the powerful “Arms Purchase and Commission lobbies”. What makes it worse is the fact that the designated officer, the favourite in the controversial UPA ‘line of Succession’ is the only Chief to be who is not even a PSC (Passed Staff College), considered within the Army to be a competitive pre-requisite to even for commanding an infantry battalion,” Swamy said.