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Former Army chief V K Singh joins BJP

Last Updated 01 March 2014, 20:01 IST

Former Army chief General V K Singh on Saturday joined the BJP, and is likely to be fielded from Rajasthan in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

One of the two constituencies Singh has identified for contesting is believed to be Jhunjhunu, a western Rajasthan district that falls in the Shekhawati region, said party sources. 

The formal announcement of the seat from where Singh will contest will be made when the BJP comes out with more lists of candidates next week onwards.

Ending months of suspense, Gen Singh, who fought a bitter legal battle with the UPA government over his age, said he opted for the BJP since it was the only “nationalist” party working in the country's interest. 

He had earlier been seen with social activist Anna Hazare when the latter was campaigning to rid the country of corruption, but later shared the dais with the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at an ex-servicemen's rally in Rewari, Haryana. He had then stated he had no plans of joining politics.  

“In today's circumstances, I see only the BJP as a nationalist party that works in the interest of the nation. That is why I took this decision,” he said after joining the BJP in the presence of party president Rajnath Singh. Other former servicemen also walked into the BJP fold.

He also appealed to ex-servicemen to work with nationalist forces, speaking at the BJP's Ashoka Road headquarters, in the presence of retired generals, air commodores and former Navy officials. Interestingly, actor Rakhi Sawant also landed up unannounced at the venue, extending her support to the party.

Welcoming Gen Singh into the party fold, Rajnath Singh criticised the UPA government for not caring for the military, which he said was visible in frequent Navy warship mishaps. 

“The Indian security system has not one but many holes. Is it not the government's responsibility to tighten the Indian security system?” said the BJP chief, promising that the three defence wings would be given free hand to strengthen the nation if the BJP comes to power.

Asked if he has moved on from Hazare, Gen Singh said, “No, I have not left anybody.” He also claimed that Hazare has not joined the Trinamool Congress, but is “only supporting those who have supported him”.
Fresh look into CD submitted by Singh

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will undertake a fresh forensic analysis of an audio recording submitted by former army chief General V K Singh to prove his allegation of bribe offer made to him by a retired senior officer of the Army to clear supply of Tatra trucks, DHNS New Delhi.

CBI officials said they were going for a fresh analysis as their first testing of the compact disk (CD) did not yield much. In the first analysis, nothing in the CD was audible.

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(Published 01 March 2014, 20:01 IST)

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