Rawat chosen to address security situation: BJP

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday condemned the Congress for its attack on the government over the appointment of the new Army Chief , saying there should be no politics with regard to the defence forces. The party asserted that Lt. Gen. Rawat has been elevated keeping in mind the current security scenario.

Stating that the new army chief had been picked from a pool of five senior-most officers, who are all competent, the party said General Rawat's appointment should not be seen as a negative against others.

“They are all competent officers but under the prevailing security scenario, the government found Lt. Gen. Rawat as the most suitable candidate. We will urge to all political parties to not do politics over it,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said. “If any party has flouted the democratic norms most, it is the Congress party. BJP has always adhered to democratic norms,” he said.

Congress raises doubts

The appointment of Lt. Gen. B .S. Rawat set off a flurry of reactions with Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari saying every institution has its own dynamics, hierarchy and seniority which is the overriding dynamic of the armed forces — not only in India but everywhere in the world.

“With all due respect to Gen Rawat's professionalism and no personal animus towards anybody, there is a legitimate question on why that supersession taken place,” he said. He said the argument that the Congress too appointed General Vaidya as Army chief over General Sinha (who was the senior in the case) in the 1980s, and, therefore this government too had the right to do so was “complete nonsense.”

“Every situation has its own context and, therefore, nothing can be extrapolated out of context justify a supersession,” Mr. Tewari said.

The Congress leader accused the government of “playing with institutions” and wondered if the appointment was “whimsical cherry picking”.

Contoversial appointments

CPI leader D. Raja also questioned the government's move and said appointments have become controversial. “Appointments in the army have become controversial, the appointments in the judiciary are already controversial, the appointments of Central Vigilance Commissioners, CBI director and to the Central Information Commission — all these top-level appointments are becoming very controversial,” he said. “It is not in the interest of democracy and the country,” he added.

Source:The Hindu