Contradicting his claim, former President Pratibha Patil today denied that she had advised the then Army Chief Gen V K Singh not to resign over the age controversy.
She said she had told him that it was for him to decide whether to quit or not.
"....Whether to resign or not, it is your decision," she had told Gen Singh when he met her after the second Supreme Court hearing in his dispute over age with the government that came as a "big blow".
Patil was answering reporters' questions when they asked her about Gen Singh's claim in his autobiography 'Courage and Convictions' that the former President had told him "I hope you are not thinking of resigning".
She said the former army chief had met her as she was the Supreme Commander of the armed forces and told her that he was getting a lot of political pressure and he wanted to resign.
"Keep all issues aside. Your first duty is to serve the nation," Patil told Gen Singh suggesting that he should ignore the pressures.
"Whether to resign or not, it is your decision," Patil said she had told him.
