Troop movement: ‘Govt came close to taking action against Army chief’

Thereafter,PM consulted Antony about the course of action the government should take.

Top PMO sources said this was the nearest the government came to taking action against the Army chief,the report said.

The context of the meeting was a series of incidents,including the one reported in ‘The Indian Express’ on the Army troop movement. (Read the full report)

The political brass has not denied ‘The Indian Express’ report.

The government has drawn its own conclusions from Gen V K Singh’s recent public statements and his use of words like ‘rogue elements’ and ‘schism’ to describe the ‘conflict’ between him and the government,the report says.

To give the Army chief the benefit of the doubt,Antony has even defended him.

Last month,Rajya Sabha debated the issue of the letter written by the chief to the PM,citing serious defence deficiencies. In his speech,Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House,Arun Jaitley virtually exonerated the Defence Minister of responsibility in the conduct of the Army chief.