Government Gets Defensive on Key Defence Appointment

Deviating from tradition, the naming of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the new Chief of the Army Staff superseding two seniors has triggered a political storm and given the Congress and Left Front a new stick to beat the government, writes Col DS Cheema (Retd)

- Col Ds Cheema

Traditionally, the new service chiefs are appointed at least two months before the incumbent retires. However, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the habit of springing surprises, the announcement of new army and air chiefs was done on 17 December when they have to take over their respective appointments on the afternoon of 31 December 2016. The other surprise was Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, Vice-Chief of Army Staff; the new appointee supersedes Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Parveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt Gen P M Hariz.

The appointment has triggered a political storm and given the Congress and Left Front a new stick to beat the government. In fact, a political slugfest has broken out. Congress and the Left Front have questioned the government on the wisdom of superseding two senior generals. Left says that appointments under NDA have become controversial and raises “serious and critical questions of institutional integrity.” Congress too feels that government is playing with institutions. Some have even gone to the ridiculous extent of giving the appointment a religious colour. BJP moved quickly to suppress the political storm and defended the appointment by saying that the decision was not unprecedented and “nothing can be extrapolated out of context to justify supersession.”