General’s Gaffe

It is unfortunate that General V. K. Singh has inadvertently got embroiled in an unnecessary controversy regarding the modus operandi of Army intelligence working in Jammu & Kashmir (“Dirty Tricks”, October 7). The general should have been more discreet and handled the matter carefully. Confidential issues relating to nation’s security shouldn’t be discussed in the media. It can only harm the country. R. D. SINGH, Ambala V. K. Singh will go down in the military history of India as a petty general whose actions threatened national security. He misused secret service funds by playing dirty tricks, planned conspiracies, created a needless age dispute to stay in service for one more year, scandalised the third largest standing army in the world, denigrated politicians, deprecated the judiciary and hobnobbed with political parties. V. S. DHARMAKUMAR, Gurgaon As an honest taxpayer, I want to know how my money is spent. The allegations made by Singh against the Army and politicians must be investigated thoroughly and the facts made public. The retired general must not leak selective information but must come out in the open with the whole truth. ABHILASH THADHANI, via email Your cover story on General V. K. Singh is not fair to him. Notwithstanding the fact that he have erred in reacting to allegations and has brought sensitive information related to the Technical Support Division ( TSD) into the public domain, it needs to be remembered that even though TSD was reportedly into covert operations, it would be absurd to suggest that these were unauthorised and had no sanction from the Government. Surely the general could not have formed such a unit on his own whim, without a directive from the Ministry of Defence? ANJUM M. SAMEL, Mumbai

V. K. Singh, being a retired general of the Indian Army, should not act frivolously and endanger the security of the country which is paramount. The country’s security should not be compromised upon by anyone for their personal or professional ambitions. It is clear that Singh resorted to these tricks to attain his political goals. No secret information of national importance should be divulged before the media. He must realise that no one stands to gain if the nation suffers. V. K. TANGRI, Dehradun