Former Army chief Gen. V.P. Malik on Thursday came out in defence of Brigadier Devinder Singh, saying the commander who led the Batalik-based 70 Infantry Brigade during the Kargil operation should have been promoted as he and his formation did extremely well during the war. “I had seen Brig. Singh during the war. He took a little
time...But thereafter, he and his formation did extremely well,” said Gen. Malik, who led the troops during Kargil. His comments come after the Armed Forces Tribunal indicted former 15 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal for showing bias against Brig. Singh and fudging battle accounts of the Kargil war. It has been contended that due to the “fudged” accounts, Brig. Singh was awarded only a Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) and not a Mahavir Chakra, which he was cited for. The Tribunal has directed that the affected officer be considered for a notional promotion to the rank of a major-general.
“I feel Brig. Singh should have been promoted. But in the Army, there is a system, wherein reports are considered,” Gen. Malik said.
“He felt aggrieved by the report (of the Corp commander),” the former Army Chief said. —PTI
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No bias: Lt. Gen. Pal
New Delhi, May 27: Lt. Gen. Kishan Pal, who has been indicted by the Armed Forces Tribunal for showing bias against a Brigadier during the Kargil War, on Thursday rejected the allegations, saying his report was “objective”.
“I was never called by the Armed Forces Tribunal and asked about the case or whatever I had written in my report,” Lt. Gen. Pal said. Raising serious questions about the military leadership in the 1999 Kargil War, the Tribunal has indicted Lt. Gen. Pal for showing bias towards Brig. (Retd) Devinder Singh, playing down his achievements and for falsifying accounts of battles. —PTI