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The armed forces and the change of govt
May 30, 2014
In its dying moments, the UPA II government has appointed Lieutenant
General D.S. Suhag as chief-designate to replace the current chief of
army staff who is due to relinquish his post at the end of July.
The
decision is one of the last major decisions of this government and
stands justified on grounds that it is based on the twin traditions of
the seniority principle and the need to provide adequate time for
overlap for the chief designate to familiarize himself.
To stave off
criticism, it has been clarified that the government is legally
empowered to take such a decision.
While these are legal arguments in
defence of the decision it may be worthwhile looking at them in the
wider context of ethics and morality when dealing with the sensitive
institution of the armed forces.
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