Army chief issue referred to poll panel after BJP protested the appointment

New Delhi: Amid strong opposition by BJP to appointment of next Army Chief, the Centre on Friday said the matter has been referred to the Election Commission and any decision will be taken only after getting its nod. The EC is likely to give its nod on the matter by next week, sources have said.

The Centre’s latest move could be interpreted as a measure of its possible resolve to make the appointment in its last days in office.
Defence minister A.K. Antony on Friday said, “The matter is before the EC. We want to strictly follow all the procedures before taking any final decision on the issue.”

Sources in the EC, stated that the Centre is likely to be given a go-ahead by next week on the issue as appointments in the armed forces are considered “apolitical” in nat-ure. The poll panel had, in its last order too, made it clear that the Model Code of Conduct does not extend to matters pertaining to the armed forces.

Confrontation between the Congress and the BJP on top-level appointments escalated with the UPA declaring it was “not a caretaker” entity and will continue to take decisions till the last day as BJP raised objections to naming of CICs, Lokpal and a judge to head snoopgate inquiry by a “lame-duck” ministry.

“We are not a caretaker government. As a responsible government, we will continue to work till the last day,” Union minister and Congress spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters insisting that the party-led coalition has every right to make the appointments.