Army chief blames Army for age row,8217;original sin committed by force8217;

General Singh said the Defence Minister was 8220;right8221; in saying the Army was responsible for the controversy over his age.

8220;Absolutely,it is within the Army. After 36 years,you suddenly decide to come up with an issue. There is something wrong with it,8221; the Army chief told reporters here.

He was asked to comment on the Defence Minister8217;s statement made earlier this morning and if the 8216;original sin8217; on the issue was committed within the force.

8220;Yes,it is a problem in the Army8230; he is right. There is no doubt about that,8221; he added. The Army chief said steps have been taken to ensure that such a controversy does not recurs in the future.

8220;Problems should have been sorted out. There was a problem of coordination between the two branches. I had said earlier too that steps have been taken to ensure such things never recur in future,8221; Gen Singh added.

The branch which deals with the service records in the ministry has been given full authority in these matters,he said.

On the issue of the letter by the Defence Ministry,he said,8221;There is no rift with the Defence Ministry8230; There is a procedure. A letter is sent and it is studied. Everything takes its time. It is not that everything is done with the press of a button.8221;

Gen Singh was asked about the Adjutant General8217;s AG branch of the Army yet to respond to the January 23 letter of the Defence Ministry,directing it to change the date of birth record from May 10,1951 to May 10,1950.

8220;We should not see that it happened early or late. I think there is no other point of view in this matter,8221; the Army chief said.

The AG8217;s branch,which is the official record keeper in the service,has maintained Gen Singh8217;s date of birth as May 10,1951,although the Military Secretary8217;s branch records it as May 10,1950.

Gen Singh has said his actual date of birth is May 10,1951 and has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to seek a direction on this issue.

When asked about the particular letter,Defence Minister A K Antony said 8220;it was part of the ongoing process and there was nothing unusual about it.8221;

Earlier in the day,Defence Minister A K Antony had laid the blame on the Army8217;s door for the controversy over General V K Singh8217;s age. Antony said the fracas surfaced because the force had kept two sets of his birth date for 36 years.

He maintained there was no confrontation between the government and the military.

8220;For 36 years,two branches of the same institution has maintained two dates of birth and that is why this controversy,8221; he told reporters in his first detailed comments on the row that is before the Supreme Court now.

8220;It is unfortunate that it took years together but I don8217;t agree with some of you that it is a civil-military controversy,8221; Antony added.

He suggested the government had no role to play in the whole issue as this discrepancy was first noticed in 2006 by the Army headquarters and reconciled at that level then and later in 2008 by two respective chiefs.

Antony said determining the Army chief8217;s age is an ongoing process. 8220;It is now nearing the end. The government8217;s decision is not final. Anybody can challenge the government. The Supreme Court8217;s decision will be final,8221; he said.

Maintaining the government8217;s decision to take the year of birth as 1950 was not final,Antony said the ministry would follow the apex court8217;s directions on the matter. He added it was the right of the Army chief to approach court. 

Antony said from 2006 to 2009,the Army headquarters AHQ handled and reconciled the age issue at their level and the government accepted their recommendations and had no role to play in it.

8220;It two dates of birth was noticed by the AHQ in 2006 and then it was reconciled at the level of the then Army chief Gen J J Singh. Army took a decision and conveyed it to the government. I was not there but the government of the day took a decision on the basis of recommendations from the Army,8221; he said.

The Defence Minister said when the issue came up again in 2008,the AHQ at the level of the then Army chief General Deepak Kapoor had reconciled the matter and the government accepted the recommendations of the force.

8220;In 2008 too,AHQ at their level reconciled it and sent it to the government,which accepted that. What else could the government do?8221; he said.

Antony said after accepting recommendations of the AHQ on the matter in 2009,8221;the government had thought all controversies were reconciled8230; but a complaint was made again in 2011.8221;

He said after receiving the complaint in 2011,the government took three decisions on the basis of opinion given by the Law Ministry and the Attorney General. 8220;That is the only way the government functions, he said.

The minister said the government8217;s decision on the issue has been questioned in the Supreme Court,8221;Let us have patience, he said.

8220;This is now beyond the government8217;s control. Let us all mentally prepare ourselves to accept the decision. That will be the final decision of the Supreme Court of India,8221; he said.