M A I N   N E W S

Army Chief refuses to bury row over his age,
files complaint
Wants Defence Minister to re-examine case;
ministry has to file reply within 90 days
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

DoB Issue n The development comes a month after the government declared that the year of Army Chief’s birth was 1950 and not 1951 as he had claimed n In his 500-page complaint, General Singh has asked Defence Minister AK Antony to take a decision on his date of birth purely on the basis of merit and available evidence n The controversy on VK Singh’s age surfaced in 2008 when he was considered for appointment as the Eastern Army Commander.

New Delhi, August 29
Showing his unwillingness to give up on the age issue, Army Chief General VK Singh has filed a statutory complaint with Defence Minister AK Antony seeking a re-examination in the matter.

The development comes a month after the government declared that the year of his birth was 1950 and not 1951 as he had claimed.

In a first by an Army Chief, Gen Singh on Friday filed a 500-page complaint with the Defence Minister, asking him to take a decision on his date of birth purely on the basis of merit and available evidence. In his complaint, Gen Singh has annexed all the previous correspondences with the ministry on this issue.

However, Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju, while talking to reporters today, said: “Where is the controversy? The ministry has looked into the issue and has given an opinion. I think the view taken by the ministry is known.”

As per Army rules, the reply to the complaint must be filed within 90 days of it being received by the minister's office. Meanwhile, Defence Minister AK Antony refused to comment on the issue.

The Defence Ministry had on July 22, decided to fix Gen Singh’s date of birth as May 10, 1950 on the basis of opinions given by the Attorney General and the Law Ministry. The controversy on VK Singh’s age surfaced in 2008 when he was considered for appointment as the Eastern Army Commander. The Adjutant General's (AG) branch - the official record-keeper for salary and pension - has been following 1951 as Singh’s DoB, while the Military Secretary branch, which looks after promotions and postings, shows it as 1950. VK Singh is slated to retire on June 1, 2012, but if the other date of birth is accepted, he may remain in office for another ten months.

Sources in the ministry indicated that the entire controversy over the Gen Singh’s age has started affecting the image of the Army.

Last week, the Prime Minister refused to accept a memorandum from a group of MPs, who wanted his intervention in the matter. The PM told the delegation, who wanted the government to re-examine the Defence Ministry's decision, that the Army was a professional organisation and politicians should not get involved in the affairs of the force.