SP, JD-U want army chief sacked, BJP says no

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Opinions were divided Wednesday on the future of army chief V.K. Singh with the SP and the JD-U saying he should be sacked after his letter to the prime minister on shortage of ammunition in the forces came out in open but the BJP saying it did not support the demand.

As the uproar over the letter led to angry scenes in the Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari was the first to demand the sacking of the army chief.

'This is a matter of serious indiscipline, the army chief should be sacked... if we don't take an action, it can become a bad tradition,' said Tiwari.

Echoing him, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav told reporters outside parliament that 'responsibility should be fixed and strict action should be taken. If Gen Singh is responsible, he must be sacked and jailed'.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party took a slightly different view. Asked about the stand taken by ally JD-U, BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said: 'We do not share the view.'

Leaders from the Left demanded a thorough inquiry and said strict action should be taken. They were joined by the Biju Janta Dal (BJD).

'Examine into the leak, fix responsibility and punish whosoever is responsible,' CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.

V.K. Singh, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has pointed out a shortage of arms and ammunition in the armed forces and questioned if the country is ready for a war.

According to reports, the letter, which was written March 12, states that army tanks in the country have run out of ammunition.