Silence is golden: PM on army chief's rows

On Board Air India One, May 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday refrained from the rows over army chief Gen. V.K. Singh, saying: "Sometimes silence is golden."

He was speaking to reporters on board his special aircraft while returning home from a three-day visit to Myanmar.

Gen. Singh was involved in a messy row with the government over his attempt to get his year of berth "rectified" from 1950 to 1951. The issue went right up to the Supreme Court but the government said it had no intention of acceding to him.

Soon after, Gen. Singh was involved in a controversey over a showcause notice for a blotched operation in the northeast issued to Lt. Gen. B.S. Suhag, who is seen as the successor to army chief designate Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh.

Gen. Singh justified the notice, saying it was for the officer to reply.

Gen. Singh has also accused a retired lieutenant general of attempting to bribe him to accept deficient heavy-duty trucks for the Indian Army.

In between, a newspaper report suggested that Gen. Singh secretly moved two large army formations towards New Delhi in January to "spook" the government. The defence ministry described it as a routine exercise.