Ex-Army chief General VK Singh joins BJP

New Delhi – Former Army chief General VK Singh officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday. However, it is still unclear whether Singh would contest the crucial upcoming General Elections.

Reports pertaining to the same had gathered steam when he addressed an ex-servicemen’s rally in Haryana’s Rewari on September 15 last year along with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s PM candidate for 2014 polls Narendra Modi. This was Modi’s first rally after being named as the face of his party.

“It is the requirement of the day and a national alternative. At the moment, I think all people who want good and stable governance that will propel India towards more development, may be looking forward to the BJP,” Singh said today prior to his joining the BJP.

“A very large number of officers are going to join the BJP. Some of who will be joining now and some later. It is a movement that has begun,” he said.

Singh marched from India Gate to the BJP headquarters where he officially joined the BJP.

General Singh’s last days in office were marred by a legal battle with the government in the Supreme Court regarding the issue of his age. In an unprecedented move, he had moved the Supreme Court in January 2012 against the government’s rejection of his claim on his date of birth. In a writ petition, he had questioned the government’s decision to treat his date of birth as May 10, 1950 instead of May 10, 1951 as claimed by him on the basis of his matriculation certificate and other documents.

However, General Singh lost the battle after Supreme Court forced him to withdraw his plea in February 2012 and later he retired on May 31, 2012.

Post retirement, VK Singh had blamed the bureaucracy and the Prime Minister’s Office for creating troubles for him during his tenure.