Postings create ripples in Navy

The Naval headquarters’ decision to skip the convention of consulting Commanders-in-Chief (C-in-Cs) over the appointment of the command...

The Naval headquarters’ decision to skip the convention of consulting Commanders-in-Chief (C-in-Cs) over the appointment of the commanders of the key Western and Eastern Fleet has created a flutter in South Block. So much so that a Rear Admiral has filed a statutory complaint with the Naval headquarters about not being considered for a Fleet appointment.

On January 8, Naval headquarters appointed Rear Admirals Vijay Shankar and R P Suthan as commanders of the Western and Eastern Fleet respectively. The Western Naval Fleet is the most potent arm of the Navy with India’s sole aircraft-carrier INS Viraat leading the armada. The appointment of the commanders of the two fleets have the approval of the Defence Ministry and the Cabinet Committee on Appointments.

But the appointments are generating a lot of heat because the top rung of the Navy and the Western, Eastern and Southern commanders were apparently not consulted by headquarters. For the last three-four years, Fleet Commanders’ appointments were being cleared by a committee headed by the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS). Others on the panel were the Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS) and the three C-in-Cs.

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But this time, CNS Madhavendra Singh cleared the names on the advice of a Board comprising VCNS Vice Admiral John DeSilva, Deputy CNS Vice Admiral Gopalachari and then Chief of Personnel Vice Admiral Suresh Mehta. Mehta is moving to the Coast Guard as its Director General.

Such is the resentment over headquarters’ decision to ignore commanders that Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha, who retired as Western Naval Commander on December 31, sent a letter to the Chief. Fleet appointments was one of the issues in his missive. The general view among C-in-Cs was that Fleet appointments are operational commands which ensure promotion to next rank and, therefore, HQs should have kept them in the picture.

Rear Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, Flag Officer Commanding, Maharashtra Naval Area, has also written to HQs, protesting against being overlooked for the post. With his letter dismissed, Verma has filed a statutory complaint with South Block.

Rear Admiral Verma refused to comment but Navy spokesman Commander Rahul Gupta confirmed that Verma’s complaint was being examined before being sent to Ministry of Defence. He said the Chief had set-up an advisory board, comprising senior officers of the rank of vice-admirals to clear senior-level appointments.

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