Army chief Gen V K Singh inaugurated a book Assault on Merit by Advocate R K Anand at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi on Friday evening. The book talks about how the defence services are suffering because of politicisation of transfers and how officers with merits are bypassed by bureaucracy.

Strategic analyst Maruf Raza says, "The book highlights the plight of many officers who have made it to the top in spite of their questionable credentials. Former prime minister Indira Gandhi politicised postings and promotions of armed officers.'  

Anand, the author, told rediff.com that he has fought scores of cases of armed officers. "I have fought many against them too," he said.  

Former Union minister and a friend of former PM Rajiv Gandhi Arun Singh in a letter to Inderjit Badhwar, the editor of the book, had lambasted babus for not doing justice to the armed forces. 

"Our politicians are not interested in helping clean the system," he had said in the letter read out by Badhwar at the book launch..

"Gen Singh is the most distinguished soldier of our time. But this book is not about him," said Anand. "I have enough material on Gen Singh's birth controversy." 

Inaugurating the book Gen Singh said that he had no time to read the book since he was traveling. "A career in the army is most honourable,' he said.