Communist Party of India leader Atul Anjan on Saturday lashed out at former Army chief General (Retd.) V.K. Singh over the recent allegations leveled against him, and said that there should be a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the entire episode so that the national interest is not compromised.
"The Communist Party of India demands that the claims made by the Army Chief and the evidence that emerged in the report is thoroughly investigated by the CBI. The investigation report should be put before the country within three months, and not longer," Anjan said.
"If he thinks that all of this is in national interest, he should state it publicly. But being the Ex-Army chief, it is not appropriate for him to make these controversial statements. He loves to make these controversial statements just to remain in the limelight," Anjan said.
"He should not indulge in these activities because the common man will not accept it," he added.
Saying the allegations made by V.K. Singh are serious, Anjan accused the former Army chief of misusing intelligence services and wasting public money to destabilize the Central Government.
"The General is making all kinds of allegations. Since he became the chief of the Indian Army, he has been surrounded by controversies. He is trying to topple a democratically elected government by misusing intelligence units and putting surveillance on several politicians and wasting money on it," Anjan said.
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Anjan also suggested that people in apolitical positions must keep away from politics for a period of 10 years after retirement as they hold secret information of the country, which may be compromised.
"People in constitutional positions of law and order should not be allowed to enter politics till 10 years after retirement because they have been in close quarters to pivotal secret information of the country. ... They should sign a bond or affidavit in this regard," Anjan suggested.
Former chief of army staff General V.K. Singh on Saturday strongly rejected allegations that he had misused a technical services division (TSD) created by him when he was army chief to unseat the National Conference-Congress-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, or to target senior army officers, including present army chief General Bikram Singh.
"What the J and K Chief Minister is saying is motivated and is his personal agenda,"General Singh said.
"If this unit (TSD) was allowed to function properly, the cross border terrorism you are seeing today, would not have happened," he further stated.
"Anyone who says that this (TSD) is a private army, doesn't know anything about the armed forces," General Singh said.
Emphatically stating that he would wholeheartedly welcome a White Paper on the entire controversy that was being linked to him, he said: "There are a lot of probes going on, what has happened to them? This is an orchestrated campaign against me by a few people."
"This is very interesting. I have been accused of toppling the Indian Government, and now the Jammu and Kashmir Government. It is hogwash," General Singh said, adding that he was being targetted because he had shared the dais with BJP leader Narendra Modi at an ex-servicemen's rally in Rewari, Haryana last Sunday.
Singh said the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir works solely to stabilise, and said that the allegations against him are part of a vote bank agenda in the lead-up to the 2014 general elections in the country.
General Singh also denied having any close links with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and said he is a nationalist whose main mission has been to awaken the people and create awareness to ensure that there is a corrupt-free system in the country.
"If being a nationalist, if thinking about the nation always portrays you as BJP, then I think people need to get their heads examined. I have got good relations with all parties. It's not just BJP. I go anywhere with anybody whom I feel is going to do well for this country," he said in an exclusive interview to ANI.
Media reports has claimed that General (Retd.) Singh set up a special unit in the army which tried to destabilize the Jammu and Kashmir Government.
The report claims that a secret Board of Officers inquiry has recommended that the CBI look into the matter.
Confirming the findings of an army inquiry panel into the dubious workings of a secret intelligence unit set up in 2010 by General (Retd.) Singh, the government on Friday said it had taken steps to prevent such 'undesirable activities', but was yet to decide about ordering a CBI inquiry.
Media report also claims that the unit set up by General (Retd.) Singh called the Technical Services Division (TSD), a part of Military Intelligence, tried to block General Bikram Singh's promotion.
The reports said that the Board of Officers' recommendation has been examined by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Defence.