It's a mockery to question appointment of Army Chief over his seniority

The virtue of competitiveness and expertise is not at all a result of the single factor called seniority. If anybody thinks so, it’s a stupid political argument, just like reservation politics.

The irrational yet unproductive culture of seniority is what has made many of the wings of our government machinery less competitive when compared with the same departments in the private sector.

The hullaballoo over the selection of the Army Chief overlooking the generally followed so-called seniority norm doesn’t seem sensible in this age of digital revolution where the idea of innovation and smartness rule the roost.

Not in this age, history tells us that, always, smartness and out-of-the-box approaches were the recipes of great achievements and reforms.

The government named the Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat as the new Chief of the Army to succeed General Dalbir Singh Suhaag on Saturday. Wasting no time, the Congress and the Left parties came to attack PM Narendra Modi over the selection of Rawat.

The Congress spokesperson issued their now-predictable condemnation of the BJP government’s decision. "Why has seniority not been respected in appointment of the Army Chief?" Manish Tewari, a former minister and leader of the opposition Congress, asked on Twitter.

Is the world’s oldest company the most profitable business firm today? Can Tewari answer this question? Sometimes the situation demands breaking the stereotypical way of doing things.

As a leader of reforms, Modi knows it very well. The appointments should never be based on seniority alone; they should be based on performance, competitiveness, and skills of the person concerned to lead the respective wing, no matter whether it is in the Army or in any other service.

I am not commenting on the criteria for the selection of the Army Chief. But, no one can question the profile and achievements of the new Army Staff when he comes to take up such an influential position.

Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat, an officer with more than 10 years of experience in counter-insurgency operations, who led the surgical strikes in Myanmar, is an excellent selection. There’s little scope for a discussion on that. He has acted tough on the ideology of terror during different stages of his military career.

But, the arguments for opposing the appointment are childish, not grand enough for a grand old party to challenge the drastic electoral ride of the ultranationalists. Tewari should realise that the compelling reason is nothing but Rawat’s track record, which is a reflection of his commitment to the nation. 

The point here is not about Bipin Rawat - it’s ultimately the government’s prerogative to select the best officer - but the Congress’ rant against the government’s decision on the grounds of seniority. 

They have taken a destructive position on this issue - when the government changes the selection procedures in order to pick the best for the job, the opposition parties should come and support it unconditionally. To build any institution on professional lines, we need to implement reforms.

But instead of supporting the government, the Congress has politicised the issue to corner BJP in the present context where they have no substantial campaigns or policies to regain their electoral fortunes.

There’s nothing wrong when the government thinks the need of the hour is to have an Army Chief who shares a good chemistry with national security adviser Ajit Doval, as he is the one who drives India’s security-related policies to some extent.

A team led by Rawat and driven by Doval helps Modi shape his foreign policy in a more flexible manner.

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