EC bars govt from naming new Army chief, allows appointment of Snoopgate judge - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has decided to ask the government to defer the appointment of the next Army chief until after the Lok Sabha polls, but will not block the Centre's move to name a judge to head the judicial probe into "Snoopgate".
While the government had approached the poll panel earlier this week seeking its go-ahead for initiation of the process to appoint the new Army chief, no formal clearance was sought for notification of terms of reference of the inquiry commission into Snoopgate as the Cabinet decision was taken much before the polls were announced.
According to sources in the poll panel, the EC decided to order deferring of Army's chief appointment as it felt that the "urgency" on part of the government in naming Gen Bikram Singh's successor was not justified since he is due to retire only three months later on July 31. An Army chief's successor, by convention, is announced two months ahead of retirement of the incumbent.
The decision could wait for another couple of weeks, by when the model code of conduct would be lifted, the Commission pointed out. According to an EC functionary, the government's haste in making the key appointment while on its last legs was unnecessary and avoidable.
Given the EC's view, firmed up at a full Commission meeting on Friday and likely to be conveyed to the defence ministry soon, the new Army chief will now be named only by the next government. This could, however, have implications for the existing line of succession in the Army.
Though the present Army vice-chief Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag is the senior-most contender and slated to take over from Gen Bikram Singh, there is speculation that a regime change at the Centre after May 16 in favour of a BJP-led government, could open up the possibility for supersession. Former Army chief and now BJP leader Gen V K Singh's opposition to the Bikram-Suhag line of succession is well known. Incidentally, the present Southern Army Command chief Lt-Gen Ashok Singh, whose son is married to Gen V K Singh's daughter, is the second senior-most in the Army after Lt-Gen Suhag.
Only recently, the seniority principle was given a go by in appointment of the Navy chief, with Admiral Robin Dhowan superseding the seniormost candidate, Western Naval Command chief Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha, as the government's choice. Sinha sought voluntary retirement after his supersession.
Meanwhile, the EC's reluctance to interfere with the Snoopgate Commission - apparently because it stems from an old Cabinet decision and the EC does not want to be seen as blocking a judicial commission — has cleared the decks for the government to operationalise the panel as soon as it finalises a judge to head it. If sources in the government are to be believed, the judge for the Snoopgate commission, tasked with probing the snooping of a woman by Gujarat police allegedly at the behest of state chief minister Narendra Modi, has already been identified.
On Friday, law minister Kapil Sibal said the government would name the Snoopgate probe judge before May 16.
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has decided to ask the government to defer the appointment of the next Army chief until after the Lok Sabha polls, but will not block the Centre's move to name a judge to head the judicial probe into "Snoopgate".
While the government had approached the poll panel earlier this week seeking its go-ahead for initiation of the process to appoint the new Army chief, no formal clearance was sought for notification of terms of reference of the inquiry commission into Snoopgate as the Cabinet decision was taken much before the polls were announced.
According to sources in the poll panel, the EC decided to order deferring of Army's chief appointment as it felt that the "urgency" on part of the government in naming Gen Bikram Singh's successor was not justified since he is due to retire only three months later on July 31. An Army chief's successor, by convention, is announced two months ahead of retirement of the incumbent.
The decision could wait for another couple of weeks, by when the model code of conduct would be lifted, the Commission pointed out. According to an EC functionary, the government's haste in making the key appointment while on its last legs was unnecessary and avoidable.
Given the EC's view, firmed up at a full Commission meeting on Friday and likely to be conveyed to the defence ministry soon, the new Army chief will now be named only by the next government. This could, however, have implications for the existing line of succession in the Army.
Though the present Army vice-chief Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag is the senior-most contender and slated to take over from Gen Bikram Singh, there is speculation that a regime change at the Centre after May 16 in favour of a BJP-led government, could open up the possibility for supersession. Former Army chief and now BJP leader Gen V K Singh's opposition to the Bikram-Suhag line of succession is well known. Incidentally, the present Southern Army Command chief Lt-Gen Ashok Singh, whose son is married to Gen V K Singh's daughter, is the second senior-most in the Army after Lt-Gen Suhag.
Only recently, the seniority principle was given a go by in appointment of the Navy chief, with Admiral Robin Dhowan superseding the seniormost candidate, Western Naval Command chief Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha, as the government's choice. Sinha sought voluntary retirement after his supersession.
Meanwhile, the EC's reluctance to interfere with the Snoopgate Commission - apparently because it stems from an old Cabinet decision and the EC does not want to be seen as blocking a judicial commission — has cleared the decks for the government to operationalise the panel as soon as it finalises a judge to head it. If sources in the government are to be believed, the judge for the Snoopgate commission, tasked with probing the snooping of a woman by Gujarat police allegedly at the behest of state chief minister Narendra Modi, has already been identified.
On Friday, law minister Kapil Sibal said the government would name the Snoopgate probe judge before May 16.
