New Delhi: General VK Singh, who took over the reins of the army 26 months ago with an image of an anti-corruption crusader, will retire as Army Chief on May 31 bringing to an end a controversial tenure that was marred by rows over his age and fissures among the military brass.
62-year-old Singh, who will hang up his boots after 42 years of service, will be succeeded by Eastern Army Commander General Bikram Singh, who will have a tenure of two years and three months.
General VK Singh, who took over as the Army Chief on March 31, 2010 with an image of honest, firm and upright officer, will leave behind a legacy of controversies starting from a row regarding his age.
Opinions varied on the tenure among former top officials of armed forces with some hailing him and others criticising him.
Even as controversies clouded the last few months of his tenure as the head of the 1.3 million-strong force, he had laid the road map for transformation of the army into a lean and mean fighting unit.
He had also flagged concerns over the shortage of arms and ammunition and impressed upon the Government the urgent need for immediate steps to shore up purchases.
A native of Bapora village in Rohtak district of Haryana, General VK Singh's tenure saw the unprecedented step of an Army Chief dragging the government to the court seeking a change in the date of birth in the official records that would have given him an extra ten months in service.
General Singh had two dates of birth entered in the Army records - May 10, 1950 in the Military Secretary Branch and May 10, 1951 in the Adjutant General's Branch.
The dispute over what should be treated as his actual date of birth led to a running battle between him and the government which finally ended after the Supreme Court refused to accept his contention that 1951 was his year of birth.
The Army Chief disappointed his supporters when he chose to continue in the post after the setback in the Supreme Court.
Comments
0 comment