By Parul Jain
It all started when an Officers inquiry report, led by Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (DG, Military operations) was leaked. The report comprised of army documents, notes, and also the secret service fund appropriation details; hence, very crucial from a national security point-of-view.
Ex-army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh was the man primarily pointed out in the report for various aberrant utilisations of funds. Technical Services Division (TSD) was a Military Intelligence Unit set up by the former army general in 2010; the report points out that the secret services funds were misused to destabilise the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir, and to conduct covert operations (that were not authorised) by purchasing some special kinds of equipments.
Soon after some key observations of the report were published in an Indian newspaper, The Indian Express, Mr. V.K. Singh revealed on Times Now that money was paid by the army to politicians. Even though he clarified the very next day that he never meant that the money was used as bribe, but to maintain peace and harmony, the disclosure of this news and that too by Gen. V.K. Singh sent tremors across Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi .The controversy also gave us a lot of things to think upon:
1. How was such a crucial report leaked? Was it a deliberate course of action taken by the UPA government to defame the Ex-General because he shared a stage with BJP’s recently anointed Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi? If this is so, then I am not really surprised at the government adopting these ways; crucial files relating to the coal scam are misplaced while crucial reports relating to national security are leaked? Why? Just to maintain an upper hand .
2. If the leak was because of the afore-mentioned reason, then it also draws our attention to the audacity of the government to keep issues relating to national security at stake to protect its vested interests. Think about it, if the report was submitted to the home ministry in March 2013, why was no appropriate action taken then?
3. If the government is denouncing the Ex-chief’s as false, then why examine it? The government never demanded a probe into the Coal scam, Bofors scam or the 2G scam?
4. Considering the recent fiasco from a different angle, say the government was not at fault, and the report was leaked from some different channel, then did Mr. V.K. Singh reveal it because he had his back against the wall? OR was he reliving the bitter past experience he had with the UPA government last year and retaliating? Was it plainly because the report was accusing him of something he had just not done, so he fought back? OR was it simply a slip of tongue that he regretted the moment he spilled the beans? Well, as far as Gen. Singh’s statement is concerned, I don’t think he should have made it, whatsoever the case. He is a man of high repute & stature and is respected amongst his military men; making revelations on such a sensitive issue belied his personality. No matter if he is a retired chief, his past still follows him! I think his personal urge to prove his point right overpowered his moral and ethical responsibilities.
Talking to a person with a wealth of knowledge on the issue, I was told that the army-to-politicians-bribery chain mentioned by Singh was nothing new. To gain information, various khabris are in touch with local policemen who in turn pay them money. This money is channelled from the army to politicians to policemen and lastly the informers.
Whatever happened after 20th September 2013 was obviously unwanted but the questions that remain are: Where did the government go wrong? Where did people like Gen. V.K. Singh go wrong? Is there a lack of co-ordination between the government and army due to personal interests? Think!
A final year student studying B.A.(Hons)Economics at Daulat Ram college, Delhi University. She likes reading books, articles, or journals on various economic issue with a special inclination towards recent financial crisis and its repercussions. Recently completed her term as a Google student ambassador. She wishes to continue with her interest in economics by pursuing masters in the same and public policy as the main subject.