India army chief slams 'stupid' coup plot report

Gen VK Singh

India's army chief Gen VK Singh yesterday dismissed as "absolutely stupid" a report that two key army units were moved towards Delhi in January without the government being informed.
"Some people are trying to throw muck at the government and the army. Such people need to be taken to task," Gen Singh said on Thursday from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, where he is attending a seminar.
On Wednesday, the Indian Express reported that the unexpected movement "had spooked the government".
PM Manmohan Singh has said the report is "alarmist".
The report comes at a time when the government and the army have been involved in a series of disputes.
On Wednesday, the government had rejected the report, saying that the army movements towards the Indian capital were "routine".
The Indian Express report said the incident took place on the night of 16 January - the day Gen Singh filed a case in the Supreme Court in an acrimonious row with the government over his age.
The movement caused considerable alarm and consternation in the government, it said.
It added that Defence Minister AK Antony was informed, Prime Minister Singh was woken up early on 17 January and Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma was called back from a trip to Malaysia.
The army told the newspaper that the units were engaged in a routine exercise to test their mobility in fog and did not need to warn the government in advance.
The Indian Express has stood by the report and said it is a "meticulous reconstruction and a very sober interpretation of the movement of two key army units" towards Delhi.