NEW DELHI (TIP):
Former Army chief General V K Singh, who joined the BJP recently, said he was ready to fight the coming Lok Sabha elections, even as he came down heavily on the UPA government, especially the Congress, for allegedly neglecting the military. “Let me make a statement, so far as the armed forces are concerned, Congress party has not been a good party. It has not been a good party because a lot of things which the forces wanted, whether it was the commissions, whether it was the way the equipment should have been done, whether it was the protocols, Congress party has always tried to be against the forces if I can say so,” Gen Singh told a TV channel.

In an unprecedented move, Gen Singh, when he was the Army chief, dragged the UPA government to Supreme Court claiming that he was born in 1951 and not in 1950 as the official records showed. The former chief withdrew the petition, amid a noticeable breakdown in his relations with the political establishment. Justifying his decision to join BJP, Gen Singh said, “See, if you look at the wide range of issues I started on right after retirement, some things appear as being close to BJP because they were pointing out faults with the existing system.” He said he joined the BJP not because of any assurance. “I am in the party because I was convinced by myself that I should join a political platform,” he said.