Army chief bribery row: Ex-Lt.Gen. starts legal proceedings

New Delhi, Mar.27 (ANI): Even as Defence Minister A.K. Antony named former Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh as the army officer who had allegedly offered a bribe of Rs.14 crore to Chief of Army Staff General V.K. Singh, Lt. Gen. Singh's lawyer said that he had filed a defamation suit in court against all those accusing his client of wrong doing.

Lt. Gen. Singh told a television channel here that he had met General Singh in August-September 2010 to seek gainful re-employment after his retirement from the armed forces, and added that for him to offer a bribe of such a huge amount, would have been only possible if he was extremely close and very friendly to General Singh.

He said that General Singh was not his friend, but his senior in the armed forces, and added that the latter had recommended his name for re-employment in concerned quarters.

Lt. General Singh's comment came hours after Antony assured members of parliament that strong action is being taken by the government in cases of corruption in the army.

Antony on Tuesday acknowledged that General V.K. Singh had orally informed him about the bribe offered to him. He said that when he asked the latter to act immediately on the matter, General Singh had told him then that he did not wish to pursue the matter any further.

"I have always said the truth. When General V.K. Singh told me about the incident, I was shocked. The Army chief told me it was Tejinder Singh who offered him the bribe, but he said he doesn't want to pursue it," Antony said.

"A comprehensive CBI enquiry will be conducted. If anybody is found guilty action will be taken. I will not spare anyone found guilty, no matter how powerful that person is," said the minister.

Antony said that he did not get any written complaint from the army chief on the bribery claims.

"I have narrated the truth. I was also shocked when General VK Singh told me that he was offered crores of rupees by a retired general. It took one or two minutes to get out of the shock. Till today, I have not received a written complaint from the army chief."

"If I am wrong, please punish me. All through my life I fought against corruption in all positions I had held. I am for moderation not for corruption. I have ordered many CBI probes into land scams in the Army," he said.

Antony however remained silent on why he did not order an investigation into the case in 2010 and only did so almost two years later and that too after the army chief revealed about the incident in an interview to a newspaper.

Meanwhile, the BJP said that the party would support the government on the issue.

"The government should act and take some proactive initiatives, so that this situation comes to an ends quickly. The matter should have been enquired into when this happened," BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.

Lt.Gen. (retired) Tejinder Singh said he did not and has never represented any organisation called Tatra that makes vehicles. (ANI)