Subramanian Swamy asks President not to give nod to appointment of new Army chief

NEW DELHI: After his party moved the Election Commission to stop the government from making certain key appointments, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today asked the President not to give his nod to the appointment of new Army chief, saying it will "politicise" the office and "demoralise" the forces.

In a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, he said, "The timing of this proposed announcement will, inter alia, ensure that the COAS office is politicized and the armed forces demoralised."

Swamy said, "The present government's endeavour to announce the next COAS is in direct contravention to the established convention, both in terms of time frame and also with regards to certain ongoing investigations that are currently before the judicial system."