Pakistan Day row: Not quitting, says General VK Singh

New Delhi: After a series of intriguing tweets on Monday night that sent shock waves through the government and threw it into a tizzy, the pressure on minister of state for external affairs Gen. (retd) V.K. Singh to explain his position proved too much, with Gen. Singh “clarifying” that he was “fully committed to my party and government, especially my Prime Minister” and adding that attending the Pakistan National Day celebrations at the Pakistan High Commission on Monday was part of “protocol”.

Read: Terror and talks: India attends Pakistan fete, sparks controversy

Gen. Singh — whom many  believe was unhappy with the government’s decision to send him as the representative — also clarified that his Monday night tweets on the definitions of “duty” and “disgust” were misinterpreted and had left him shocked.

He said the tweets had been directed at sections of the media that had questioned the intent of the government. Gen. Singh also made it clear that he had not offered to resign, while seeking to dismiss speculation to the contrary.

Read: Centre sent me, says General VK Singh

Sources told this newspaper that Gen. Singh was initially reluctant to attend the Pakistan National Day event after the government  decided a few days ago that he would represent India at the event. But later on, it was made clear to him from the highest levels in the government that he would have to attend since he was the Minister of State (MoS) in the MEA following which Gen. Singh attended the event.

The controversy played out even as Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Tuesday continued holding consultations for the third consecutive day with Hurriyat leaders. At an urgently-convened press conference late on Tuesday evening, Gen. Singh declared that he was fully in consonance with the government decision, saying, “I am a loyal member of the party and the present Government and would not have joined otherwise. Therefore, there should be no doubt how I stand on the government policies. Attending the Pakistan Day celebrations at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi is one  such protocol that every MoS of External Affairs has followed in the past and will continue to do so in future. There was nothing new in it including attendance by separatists who have been there year after year. This was made out (in the controversy) as a nationalistic event while there was no difference from the previous years.”

“The only difference this time was of optics as a previous Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was being seen though people forgot that he was a MoS in the present government. After I came out, I saw the uncalled-for media lashing and questioning my nationalistic credentials.”

Gen. Singh added, “Some even went as far as to claim that the attendance has lowered the morale of the Army. As ex-COAS, I know my men better. Even though my party and government understood the issue, the media kept on hyperventilating it. My tweets on duty and disgust which came under lot of scrutiny and misinterpretation over the past 24 hours has left me perplexed and shocked. I was shocked at the way certain sections of the media attacked my Prime Minister, my Government and me for making these statements. Given that a controversy has erupted over this issue, I feel that it is important for me to clarify that my tweets were directed only towards those sections of the media that have questioned the intent of my government and also the stance on countering Pakistan-sponsored terror. My tweet on definition of duty was clearly to tell all as to what it implies to a soldier and to a disciplined party”. 

Sack Singh, demands Congress

The Congress on Tuesday demanded sacking of Union minister V.K. Singh in the wake of his intriguing tweets shortly after representing the government at the national day reception at Pakistan high commission.

“Government should sack him or he should act according to his conscience after the flip-flop-flip since yesterday (Monday),” party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said claiming that the minister has shown his “vote of no confidence” against the government by expressing his “disgust”.

He said since Mr Singh is just a minister and cannot sack the government, he should be shown the door by the government. The demand of Congress came after Mr Singh, a former Army Chief, issued a series of tweets defining “disgust” and “duty” indicating that he may have been unhappy at being deputed to the reception.

Making a larger point, Mr Singhvi insisted that the “flip-flop” indicated the failure of the Modi government to evolve a stable policy in regard to dealing with Pakistan and on Jammu and Kashmir. “It is pitiable and laughable to see that the national policy on dealing with the issue was changing every two hours,” he remarked. Besides, Mr Singhvi recalled that this was not the first time that the minister has found himself in the centre of such a controversy.

Soon after the new government came in, it had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the issue of appointment of Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag as the new Army Chief which was a “vote of no confidence” against the Union minister.

The minister’s visit to Pakistani high commission had come on a day India and Pakistan sparred over Hurriyat leaders’ meeting Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit, with government making it clear that there was no role for a third party.