New Delhi, January 21
Even as there were hushed protests in the Army over the sudden movement of Lt-Gen Kapil Vij as the commander of 2 Corps, a strike force, which is deployed along the International Border (IB) in the Rajasthan sector, reports said the “strong decision” was taken by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after the American Secretary of State Collin Powell took up the issue with the government.
Sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the issue of Gen Vij allowing his troops to move too close to the IB was reviewed by the PMO on Powell’s insistence. The PMO then apparently took the decision to immediately move him from the sector and it was conveyed to the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. S. Padmanabhan, to be implemented.
Apparently, Mr Powell had brought along some of Pakistan’s concerns and evidence of Indian troops moving a little too close to the IB in the Rajasthan sector which could trigger off a war in the present heightened state of tension between the two countries. Pakistan is said to have raised the issue with the US Secretary of State and stressed upon him that it was India which was adopting an aggressive posture.
Mr Powell was in Pakistan for discussions before going to Afghanistan and finally coming to India.
Sources also disclosed General Vij had undertaken an exercise along the IB and was trying out some new tactics which he had himself worked out. The officer was apparently carrying out exercises on armoured thrust, and a noticeable number of 2 Corps’ battle tanks were very close to the border which pressed the panic buttons across the border.
Reports suggested that the government took the decision to move General Vij to also address the US concerns. India has been maintaining that it has moved the troops along the border only as a defensive posture after Pakistan started building up troops on its side of the border.
The government is said to have conveyed to the Chief of Army Staff that General Vij had exceeded his brief which was not acceptable. Army Headquarters is now expected to take a decision soon on the new posting of General Vij.
The AHQ had earlier asked General Vij to immediately proceed on leave after the government conveyed its decision to it. However the official line taken was that the Army commander had proceeded on leave due to “personal reasons”.
An MoD official while denying that General Vij had been sacked said he would soon be returning
to a posting fitting his seniority and rank.General Vij, who was replaced by Lt-Gen P.S. Thakur, is known to be a “highly accomplished officer”. In fact the 2 Corps, which is actually based at Ambala, is India’s leading strike corps, carrying the strongest punch and having more force multipliers than the other two strike corps — 1 Corps and 21 Corps.
Meanwhile, there were hushed protests in the Army over the sudden removal of General Vij. Senior officers pointed out that the Army Commander would not have taken action along the IB without the knowledge of the AHQ.
There were also suggestions that the government’s sudden move would also affect the morale of the troops.
