Army chief letter leak: PMO on backfoot

Surya Gangadharan CNN-IBN | 14-May 21:58 PM

New Delhi: Controversy simmers over who leaked Army Chief General V K Singh's letter exposing the state of defence preparedness. Despite PMO denial, CNN-IBN has learned that a 1987 batch woman officer in the Cabinet secretariat is under suspicion and has been transferred.

The government had denied reports that a joint secretary level officer from the Economic Service leaked the Army Chief's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on deficiencies in weapons and equipment.

An official release said: "The government denies that there is any truth in the PTI report on the alleged leak of General VK Singh's letter to the Prime Minister. The story is completely baseless."

Meanwhile, Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi said, "The matter is already under investigation. What can one say till the outcome of the investigation?"

It now turns out that the investigation by the Intelligence Bureau was of an interim nature. But interim reports cannot stray far from the final report. The speculation being that the leak was in fact orchestrated from within the PMO, and for obvious reasons, it must remain concealed from the public.

BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said, "The government is trying to curb it since the beginning. The Army Chief called for an inquiry even earlier. I believe the Army Chief is an honest man. He cannot leak any letter. The latest report looks factually correct but seems the government is trying to save itself."

At this point, the officer in question has reportedly been sent back to her parent cadre. Other reports claim a major effort to cover up the trail leading to the Prime Minister's door is on.

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