Army spars with IAF, Navy to corner key posts

NEW DELHI: The UPA government's plan to create 156 additional posts for general-rank officers has led to a virtual war among the services, with the Army launching a vitriolic attack on Navy and IAF.

As first reported by TOI, defence minister AK Antony had held a meeting on August 31 for "speedy implementation" of Phase-II of the Ajai Vikram Singh committee report to remove the stifling stagnation in the higher ranks of the forces.

As per the projections discussed, the 1.13 million-strong Army was to get 20 more Lt-Generals to add to the existing 68, and 75 more Major-Generals to add to the existing 216.

Gen JJ Singh then put a spanner in the works, demanding a bigger share since the Army was battling terrorists and losing personnel everyday. A "very surprised" Antony asked the service chiefs - Gen Singh, Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Air Chief Marshal F H Major - to sort out the issue.

But in a strongly-worded letter to Antony, Gen Singh has stressed that Navy and IAF were unfairly trying to usurp more posts than they deserved. If the government accepts their unjust demands, IAF and Navy will wield more influence than what is desirable in military matters.