New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday ordered a CBI probe into the allegation of bribe levelled by Army Chief General VK Singh. A Defence Ministry statement has confirmed that the CBI will probe the matter.
Speaking on the issue, Antony on Monday said that the allegation of Gen VK Singh that he was offered bribe to clear sub-standard vehicles for the Army is a serious one. "Allegation of Gen Singh that he was offered bribe is serious. We have to handle it," Antony said.
When asked if the Army chief had informed him about the bribe offer, he said, "Parliament is in session."
Reacting to the allegation levelled by Gen Singh, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said, "Both the Defence Minister and the Army chief should have acted immediately. "It is a criminal act and nobody should be allowed to go Scot free after offering a bribe," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said, "Whenever such allegation is levelled by any senior official, the government makes sure that it is clarified."
"He (Gen Singh) has said a very serious thing in his statement and every thing should be made clear in black and white," she said.
On the statement of Gen Singh, former Army chief Deepak Kapoor said, "It is below my dignity to comment on the allegation."
Congress has also reacted sharply to the charges by the Army Chief, saying Gen Singh should have approached the police first. "If someone had approached Gen Singh, he should have got an FIR registered against the person," Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari told reporters outside Parliament.
The BJP criticised the UPA government for not taking any action on the allegations of the Army Chief. "What has the government done after Gen Singh revealed that he was offered bribe. This is a serious matter. Let the Defence Minister inform what he has done on the issue," senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.
Shivanand Tiwari of JD(U) said, "The Army Chief should be asked if he was offered bribe, why did he not call police."
General VK Singh has claimed that he was offered bribe to clear the purchase of vehicles for the forces. General VK Singh said that he was offered a bribe worth Rs 14 crore by an equipment lobbyist to have a tranche of 600 sub-standard vehicles cleared for purchase.
General Singh also said that 7,000 of those sub-standard vehicles were already in use in the Army and had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices.
In an interview to national daily 'The Hindu' General Singh said, "One of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me."
He also said that he reported the incident to Defence Minister AK Antony.
When asked how the Army Chief could be offered a bribe, he said, "Obviously somewhere our standards of probity and integrity have fallen."
But there are still some unanswered questions:
1. Why has Defence Minister AK Antony been silent on the General VK Singh's allegation all these months?
2. Why is the CBI inquiry only being ordered now?
3. Why didn't Gen Singh insist on an FIR being lodged when he was first approached?
4. Why has Gen Singh chosen to rake up the issue weeks ahead of his retirement?
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