Army chief age row unfortunate: BJP

Herald Globe (IANS) Friday 10th February, 2012

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the row over the age of army chief General V.K. Singh, calling it unfortunate.

"It is a sad incident... An issue which could have been resolved sitting within closed doors has now been dragged in the open before the public," BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters here.

"We hold the centre, the prime minister and Sonia Gandhi responsible for the incident," he said.

Indian Army chief General V.K. Singh suffered a blow Friday in the Supreme Court, forcing him to withdraw his plea that his birth date be treated as May 10, 1951, and not 1950 as the government maintains.

The BJP, however, said the issue raised questions on the government's functioning.

"It is a dangerous thing that even such a row involving the army chief has been dragged into public domain. This is due to the mishandling and wrong policies of the government," he added.