As all eligible citizens, including serving bureaucrats and members of the armed forces, are entitled to (and do) vote in general or state elections on the basis of personal political choices, the outcry against some views expressed by retired General VK Singh seems contrived. Singh’s declamation that the Government has lost legitimacy and should hold fresh elections has found resonance with ordinary citizens, so the scam-ridden UPA has unleashed its warhorses on the old soldier.
Strong pressure tactics seem to have been used. The General first backed out of a function to release a study on Assam’s changing demography by an RSS thinktank on November 10, and then skipped Anna Hazare’s meeting about a fresh stir for the Lokpal Bill. As Singh’s public speeches had enthused veterans across the country to consider entering public life to cleanse it of corrosive influences, one hopes the General will recover his equanimity and speak frankly on matters that move him.
The non-performing [barring regular scams] UPA got edgy when, earlier this month, General Singh supported the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan demand for rejection of the Rangarajan Committee’s recommendation on sugar decontrol, and supported their threat to gherao Parliament on December 4 if the demand was not met. While dodging questions on whether or not he would join the gherao, Singh explained that abolishing the State Advisory Price (SAP) and cane reservation area would hit farmers in northern states. The committee’s revenue sharing formula was also unfair to northern states where sugar recovery is below 9 per cent.
As General Singh graced anti-Government platforms led by Swami Ramdev (on black money) and Anna Hazare (where he made the famous demand for dissolution of Parliament), there is some apprehension that he is planning a political career. Recently, he surfaced at Om Prakash Chautala’s rally at Rewari and opined: “There appears to be a leadership crisis in the country… an attempt is being made to weaken our institutions like CAG, CVC, judiciary and… even the armed forces”.
The INLD rally was attended by Sharad Yadav JD(U), Parkash Singh Badal (Akali Dal), Nama Nageswara Rao (TDP) and Ramdas Athawale (RPI) – kernel for a possible post-election coalition. Organised on late deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal’s birth anniversary, the rally targetted the Congress scams. Singh got into the spirit of the gathering saying, “Time has come to have participatory democracy and remove all those not following the spirit of the Constitution”; he did not name anyone.
Haryana has large numbers of soldiers and veterans. The General struck a chord when he said: “Any country that does not respect its soldiers will meet its downfall. There is a fraud being played out against the soldiers’ demand of one-rank-one-pension. You should elect people who will keep the pride of soldiers intact”. He alluded to the Robert Vadra and other realty scams which hurt the interests of farmers.
Doubtless nudged by a rattled regime, voices of disapproval surfaced. Singh’s immediate predecessor, General Deepak Kapoor, whose tenure saw its share of corruption scandals, averred, “It is not befitting of an ex-army chief to indulge in such activities. Even after retirement, he is looked upon by the serving people as their ex-chief and such things do not seem good.” He added, “The Parliament is a supreme body in a functioning democracy of ours and cannot and should not be held hostage on any issue”. Kapoor’s admonitions provoked rage among veterans who felt that a good soldier was being attacked even after retirement; other voices became muted and fizzled out.
It was left to Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra (a retired IAS on gubernatorial assignment) to pick up cudgels against Singh. Mishra insinuated that if Singh was still the army chief and felt Parliament should be dissolved, “I shudder at the thought, that what would have been the way to achieve that end?” Mishra knows the General was a model soldier and would have done nothing unconstitutional (like a coup); he should not be allowed to confuse issues and besmirch a soldier’s reputation.
The UPA has a guilty conscience vis-a-vis General VK Singh because it allowed him to be victimised by an in-house coterie which curtailed his tenure as army chief. The General’s date of birth should have been settled as per the military hospital where he was born and his father’s service records; yet he was made to suffer on the basis of a single incorrect entry in a pre-service record so that a preferred ‘line of succession’ could be created. That the Supreme Court permitted such injustice to triumph is a permanent blot on its record, specifically on the attitude taken by former Chief Justice SH Kapadia.
Singh’s appearance on political platforms cannot be equated with judges lobbying for post-retirement appointments; bureaucrats joining the private sector after retirement or on taking voluntary retirement; or veterans serving arms companies. Arvind Kejriwal’s recent allegations against the HSBC Bank showed that an Enforcement Directorate official who once raided a leading corporate, quit service and joined the same corporate in a top position. Obviously, both sides had reached an ‘understanding’, and the government permitted this blatant impropriety.
UPA was always uneasy with VK Singh for challenging its incompetence in settling his birth of date; curbing the power of the arms lobby; and making public his complaint to the Defence Minister regarding an attempt to bribe him. AK Anthony was guilty of dereliction of duty [if not worse] by asking for a written complaint before ordering action! Had Singh not spoken out, a corrupt PSU chief would continue to thrive under the political-bureaucratic elite.
Public life cannot be equated with lobbying for post-retirement sinecures. Any attempt to ban the free flow of public-minded citizens into the public arena must be resisted as mala fide.
NitiCentral, 18 November 2012
http://www.niticentral.com/2012/11/upa-is-scared-of-gen-vk-singh-for-good-reasons.html