How long will VK Singh’s supporter hold out?

The trouble for former army chief VK Singh started when he shared a stage with prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. But the good thing is that it saw BJP coming out in support of him.

The day an internal army probe report was leaked and published by English newspaper Indian Express, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman had openly said that it was due to Singh praising Modi. “He is being hounded because he was seen seated beside Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the Rewari rally,” she had said. Other BJP leaders too had voice their concern saying that Congress was feeling vulnerable and that why it took such step.

Not only this, the defence and strategic experts too questioned the timing a viability of the report which was lying unnoticed in the government office from past six months.

Today, BJP president Rajnath Singh came out in support of former army chief. He slammed the UPA government saying that the government was deliberately troubling all personalities who wanted to join the party.

“Whatever V K Singh has said is correct. Why was no inquiry held against him when he was in service? Why are they getting into holding investigations one year after his retirement and that too soon after he shared the dais with Narendra Modi.

“Deliberately, the Congress-led UPA government is troubling eminent personalities who want to join BJP,” he reportedly said when asked to comment on the matter.

The absurdity of the matter is enormous, as a matter of fact. As for the starters, the report alleges Singh of paying Rs 1.7 crores (only?!) for destabilizing Jammu and Kashmir government. He created Technical Support Division (TSD) and led it to covert operations which government claims had no sanctions. Well, there are no sanctions per se for secret operations.

In other story, VK Singh suspects hand of current army chief in it. He was quoted in the media reports: “Why has the story against me has appeared, now? Let me know that first. You should find out who is behind this story? I apprehend that it can be even my successor (current Army Chief Bikram Singh). Since long, Lt Gen (retired) Tejinder Singh has been manipulating things.”

Singh’s supporters have been defending him. They say that General Singh’s successor (Army Chief Bikram Singh) closeness to Omar Abdullah is in public knowledge. Much before he became army chief, he has been promising to remove the severe Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act if he was made the army chief. They say that it is possible the Kashmir angle has been inserted just to harass Singh and please the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.

However bias the government is blamed of being, it is onto the supporters now to change the course of fate for general Singh.