‘Army has taken beating due to Adarsh scam’

Updated on Thursday, November 04, 2010, 19:40
New Delhi: Army Chief General VK Singh on Thursday said allegations against top military officers including some former services chiefs in a housing society scam in Mumbai has "shamed" his force and its image taken a "beating".

Gen Singh also said he was "extremely saddened" at the scam and vowed that no one will be spared if the officers are proved guilty irrespective of who it is.

"I am extremely saddened and I think as an institution we have taken a beating. In 1.3 million Army this would be a very minuscule percentage but any incident which affects the hierarchy in the army, it is a sad thing because it also tries to break a bonding that we have with our men."

"It is painful to say the least."

Former Army chiefs Gen NC Vij and Gen Deepak Kapoor, ex-Navy chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh, former Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Shantanu Chowdhary are among those who have been alloted flats in the controversial 31-storey building in upscale Colaba area.

Singh made it clear that none of the guilty will go unpunished if the guilt is established.

Asked whether army men today felt pain and a sense of shame in the wake of the scam, Singh said "yes, they do."

"I think so because nobody knows what the truth is but when it is played out this way obviously people will start saying there is something wrong. Here is a man whom we trusted, here is a person in whom we had faith, here is a person in whose order we were ready to go to battle. I think it will hurt deeply," he added.

"I think it will have a great amount of psychological impact and the second part which is even more larger is that when people look at it and next time we have cases like this, in fact we have martyrs every day," Singh said.

Singh also said the intention of those asking anything for the martyrs will now be doubted.

"People are in operation everyday in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East...People are going to say anybody who is asking for something for martyr in his family is probably looking for personal gain and that is the saddest part of the episode," he added.

PTI

Army Chief General VK Singh's interview with Karan Thapar is an eye-opener. The General did not try to justify anything. He categorically said that the image of the Army has taken a beating. This is what honesty of leadership and transparency is all about. While the political and bureaucratic elite are trying to justify the indefensible or pass the buck, the Army Chief is showing true leadership by being prepared to weed out the black sheep. This is as it should be. Congratulations General. May the other elite segments draw a lesson from the General.

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