V K Singh attacks predecessors over age issue

“It was brought to J J's notice that if he could truncate my tenure as the chief to a two-year period, then the path could be cleared for the officer of his choice and perhaps the choice of others in government, to take over in 2012,” he says.

“A bit of deft manoeuvring was needed to remove impediments from the path of the officer on whom the chief had his eye,” according to him.

Gen Singh says among those who would have to be fixed included Maj Gens Ravi Arora, A K Singh, Sujan Chatterjee and Brigadiers Padam Budhwar and M M Chowdhary.  

He claims that in the scheme of things, it was an imperative that he becomes the chief but “only for a limited period”.

There was a controversy over the date of birth of the former chief.