Defence minister Arun Jaitley defended on Wednesday the appointment of Army chief-designate Dalbir Singh amid a controversy over Union minister VK Singh's tweets targeting the officer.
The Congress demanded that General (retd) VK Singh, a former Army chief, be sacked for his tweets slamming Dalbir Singh, whose appointment has been mired in controversy since Day 1, after the issue was raised in both Houses of Parliament.
Jaitley appealed to Rajya Sabha to keep issues related to the Army outside controversy, adding Dalbir Singh's appointment was final.
VK Singh, the minister of state with development of northeastern region (independent charge), external affairs, had in the past questioned Dalbir Singh for a botched up military operation in Dimapur by a unit under him.
He had also initiated disciplinary actions against Dalbir Singh and tried to stop his promotion.
Adding fuel to fire, VK Singh had tweeted on Tuesday, "If unit kills innocents, does dacoity and then head of organization tries to protect them, should he not be blamed? Criminals should go free!!"
His Twitter attack rocked Parliament on Wednesday, as the Congress demanded VK Singh's removal.
Janata Dal (United) leader and Rajya Sabha member KC Tyagi said, "VK Singh has vested interests in blocking appointment of Gen Dalbir Singh. We request the PM and Arun Jaitley to act on moral grounds."
Meanwhile, when asked about the controversy, former defence minister AK Antony refused to comment on the matter. "I am no longer the defence minister," the Congress leader said.
Earlier, Dalbir Singh's appointment by the previous Congress government at the fag end of its tenure had triggered a storm, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging the appointment was done in haste.
After the BJP came to power, the controversy was put to rest, as it assured the government would pose no hindrance to the Dalbir Singh's appointment.
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