- Broadsword by Ajai Shukla - Strategy. Economics. Defence.

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Monday 13 July 2020



Para-wise rebuttal of purported interview of Gen VK Singh by Shiv Kunal Verma, as posted on the latter's Facebook page


By Ajai Shukla
14th July 2020

HOW UNFORTUNATE THAT SOMEONE WHO ONCE OCCUPIED THE RESPECTED OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF (COAS) HAS APPARENTLY BEEN GIVEN – AND HAS REGRETTABLY ACCEPTED – THE TASK OF COVERING UP MULTIPLE GOVERNMENT FALSEHOODS RELATING TO THE CHINESE MILITARY INTRUSIONS INTO LADAKH.

INTERESTINGLY, SELF-APPOINTED "NATIONALISTS" ARE ENDORSING THE CHINESE POSITION THAT THE PLA IS PRESENT ONLY IN CHINESE TERRITORY – EFFECTIVELY CEDING TO CHINA THE AREA THE PLA HAS SAT DOWN IN. AND REPORTERS AND ANALYSTS LIKE MYSELF, WHO HAVE REPORTED THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT THE PLA IS IN INDIAN TERRITORY – ARE BEING PAINTED AS TRAITORS!

ACTUALLY, IT IS HARDLY SURPRISING THAT SHRI VK SINGH HAS ACCEPTED THE INGLORIOUS JOB OF ATTACKING A FORMER ARMY COLONEL WHOSE REPORTAGE IS INCONVENIENT FOR THE GOVERNMENT. REMEMBER, VK SINGH HAS EARLIER DEMEANED THE OFFICE OF ARMY CHIEF BY ACCEPTING THE ROLE OF A JUNIOR MINISTER – FIRST OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND NOW OF JUNIOR MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS.

WHAT A COMEDOWN FOR THE CHIEF OF SUCH A PROUD ARMY. 

I SHOULD ACTUALLY JUST IGNORE HIS DIATRIBE… DICTATED TO ONE SHIV KUNAL VERMA, WHO HAS POSTED THIS ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE. BUT I AM CORRECTING THIS SLANDER ANYWAY, SO THAT NOBODY MISTAKES SILENCE FOR ACQUIESCENCE.

MY COMMENTS, INTERPOSED AT RELEVANT PLACES IN THIS “INTERVIEW”, ARE IN RED BLOCK CAPITALS BELOW.

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General VK Singh, former Chief of the Army Staff who is now presently the Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways talks to Shiv Kunal Verma, the author of 1962: The War That Wasn't with reference to the interview conducted by journalist Karan Thapar (son of General Pran Thapar, who was the Army Chief in '62) and Ajai Shukla, a former Army officer turned journalist with close political connections. [LET ME CATEGORICALLY STATE THAT I HAVE NO POLITICAL CONNECTIONS OR AFFILIATIONS. I AM A PROFESSIONAL, A JOURNALIST WHO CRITIQUES POLITICIANS OF ALL PARTIES. THIS INLUDES THE CONGRESS.]

SKV: Have you seen the interview? It's sweeping through Social Media and along with comments from another former Army officer, Pravin Sawhney, it's painting a grim picture.

VKS: I've seen the transcripts and am aware of what these two and some others are saying. Frankly, I am absolutely shocked at the devious manner in which information is being put out by them. Neither Shukla nor Sawhney have a clue about the ground situation [ACTUALLY EVERYTHING I HAVE REPORTED ABOUT THE GROUND SITUATION, WHILE INITIALLY REFUTED BY “OFF THE RECORD” GOVT SPOKESPERSONS, HAS TURNED OUT CORRECT]. They left the army decades ago… Sawhney from the Raj Bhavan in Punjab and Shukla from Nagrota [I DIDN’T LEAVE THE ARMY FROM NAGROTA, I LEFT FROM BABINA. A FORMER ARMY CHIEF, NOW A JUNIOR MINISTER SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO GET SIMPLE, OBTAINABLE, VERIFIABLE FACTS CORRECT] to build on his family connections with the Gandhis [I LEFT THE ARMY IN 2001, WHEN THE BJP WAS IN POWER. MY ALLEGED “CONNECTIONS WITH THE GANDHIS”, WHICH DON’T EXIST ANYWAY, WOULD HAVE BEEN OF NO USE TO ME]. They are using the credibility their rank gives them to not only peddle lies [THAT’S A BIT RICH COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO MISUSED HIS POSITION AS THE COAS AS A SPRINBOARD TO JOIN POLITICS], they are playing a very dangerous game where they want to create a fear syndrome in a bid to promote themselves [I’M NOT PROMOTING MYSELF, I’M ACCURATELY REPORTING A WORRISOME NATIONAL SECURITY SITUATION. AS THE ALL-OUT ATTACK IN THIS INTERVIEW DEMONSTRATES, THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO PROMOTE ONESELF].

SKV: By using and interpreting satellite images, the arguments being put forward are that we have lost a considerable amount of territory.

VKS: As I said its being very cleverly done. If you remember one of the first images put out by Shukla showed the Chinese sitting literally on the Galwan-Shyok junction, controlling the heights on the northern side of the Galwan Valley. Having got everyone's attention, including a former Northern Army Commander long since retired [IN FACT, TWO FORMER NORTHERN ARMY COMMANDERS LT GEN HS PANAG AND LT GEN D.S. HOODA, BOTH HIGHLY RESPECTED COMMANDERS AND ANALYSTS HAVE COMMENTED ON THE WORRYING NATURE OF CHINESE INTRUSIONS], that annotated image quietly disappeared [COMPLETELY UNTRUE. I HAVE NEVER REMOVED AN IMAGE. HOW COME NOBODY HAS RECORDED THE IMAGE BEFORE IT WAS REMOVED?] and new ones appeared showing the area of conflict around PP 14. This was a quantum shift backwards by nearly 8 to 10 km. [ONCE AGAIN, A FORMER ARMY CHIEF GETTING VERIFIABLE MILITARY FACTS TOTALLY WRONG. THE DISTANCE FROM THE GALWAN RIVER ESTUARY TO PP14 IS LESS THAN 5 KM. TRY USING GOOGLE EARTH] By using satellite images and projecting their make belief fantasies based on their perception of the LAC, what they are trying to do is obvious to any trained eye.

SKV: I think you need to elaborate on this. Most people had no idea where the Galwan Valley was... 

VKS: That there is a real threat from the Chinese build up there can be no doubt. They have been doing this for years, probing, looking for perceived weaknesses. That Communist China's core ideology is expansionist there is no doubt. We are dealing with a powerful adversary here and frankly the Chinese are playing a game of chess. We have certain short comings but we are not push overs by any stretch of imagination. Even in 1962 as you correctly point out in your book, we lost not to the Chinese but to ourselves. [ACTUALLY, THERE WERE LOTS OF SOLDIERS ATTACKING US IN 1962 WHO LOOKED AWFULLY LIKE CHINESE! WE DID INDEED LOSE TO THE CHINESE. OUR INTERNAL WEAKNESSES WERE THE CAUSE OF THAT LOSS]

As for the Galwan Valley the Chinese have since 1962 controlled the major part of the Valley [ANOTHER BLATANT FALSEHOOD THAT UNDERMINES OUR NATIONAL INTEREST BY CREATING THE BASIS FOR CHINA TO CLAIM GALWAN]. The area under us, where we perceive the LAC to be, gives us control of the final few kilometres. There is a major camp where PLA troops have concentrated some 10 km behind the LAC on their side and they have made another camp ahead of that. We are not fools... disengagement is to calm things down and we know where our immediate strategic and tactical goals are [IS VK SINGH SAYING THAT SURRENDERING TERRITORY TO THE CHINESE IS A CLEVER WAY TO “CALM THINGS DOWN”? WELL GOOD LUCK WITH GETTING BACK YOUR TERRITORY FROM THE CHINESE LATER]. No reason for us to compromise on that. Shukla says no one has the guts to put his name on the new alignment... well, he can take it from me PP 14 is under our control [TAKE IT FROM YOU? WHY? YOU’RE A JUNIOR MINISTER WHO HAS NOT BEEN TRUSTED WITH THE DEFENCE PORTFOLIO, DESPITE 40-ODD YEARS IN THE ARMY! PARDON ME, BUT I’D RATHER TAKE IT FROM THE DEFENCE MINISTER MR RAJNATH SINGH, OR SOMEBODY ELSE WHO IS QUALIFIED TO SPEAK ON THIS SUBJECT] and the Chinese do not have any direct observation of the Shyok Valley or the road. If that doesn't satisfy him and his handlers [I DON’T HAVE ANY HANDLERS, BUT IT WOULD APPEAR THAT VK SINGH DOES], I do not know what will.

SKV: What about the other sectors? Pangong Tso, Hot Springs, the Depsang Valley... DBO… all throw backs to 1962.

VKS: As you and I both know, the Chinese have been playing this game relentlessly. Doklam as you pointed out in the Sunday Guardian yesterday was also a classic case of the Army stepping in and blocking the Chinese as they tried to push the road further towards the tri-junction. The Eastern Army Commander at that time acted decisively and that was the end of that [ACTUALLY, THAT WAS NOT THE END OF THAT. AFTER A “MUTUAL DISENGAGEMENT” AND PULL OUT, THE CHINESE RETURNED TO DOKLAM AND ARE STILL THERE TODAY. THIS HAS BEEN PUBLICLY STATED BY THE FORMER NSA MR SHIVSHANKAR MENON. THE GOVT HAS MERELY SAT AND DONE NOTHING]. This same lot created a huge hue and cry saying the Chinese had since done this and that and in the long run this and that had happened. It's laughable, but if the Chinese have built a few structures there, good for us. It gives us clear targets for we are sitting on the heights [THIS IS A NOVEL NEW RATIONALE FOR JUSTIFYING LOSS OF TERRITORY: “THE ENEMY IS NOW OUR TARGETS” DOES ANYONE REMEMBER COMICAL ALI!!].

The Chinese have pushed into what at best can be called the grey areas between their perception of the LAC and ours [AGAIN, A GOVERNMENT MINISTER IS ENDORSING THE CHINESE POSITION. MR VK SINGH, ARE YOU ACTUALY STATING THAT INDIA’S CLAIMED LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL IS NOT OUR NATIONAL CLAIM LINE – BECAUSE IT IS IN A “GREY AREA”?] We have already called their bluff and now negotiations will carry on to push them back. The Sumdrong [ANOTHER FACTUAL ERROR… IT’S SUMDORONG CHU), or as the Chinese call it Sangduoluo, the talks went on for seven years, but we stood our ground and got what we wanted [WE DID NOT GET WHAT WE WANTED. THE CHINESE ARE STILL THERE. GET YOUR BASIC FACTS CORRECT PLEASE WHILE COMPOSING SLANDER, OR YOUR SLANDEROUS POINTS LOSE CREDIBILITY]. Give it time... I also do not want to get into specifics. This is not a cricket match where a ball by ball commentary has to be given. 

SKV: Shukla in particular was involved in the Siachen sell out earlier [COMPLETELY UNTRUE. I HAVE NOT BEEN PART OF ANY SIACHEN SELL OUT. LAST I HEARD, WE WERE IN FULL CONTROL OF THE SALTORO RIDGE AND THE GLACIER. IN FACT, IN MY WRITING, I HAVE ADVOCATED AGAINST ANY DEAL ON SIACHEN]. We were all quite appalled he along with the others were not arrested for what clearly amounted to treason. You had put in a formal complaint to the MHA at the time. 

VKS: Not just MHA, but to the Press Council and to the Delhi Police as well. Mr Sushilkumar Shinde was then the Home Minister... how could he act against some of their own?  [GIVEN THAT THE BJP HAS BEEN IN POWER FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS AND HAVE NOT ACTED ON THIS EITHER, CLEARLY THE PARTY AND THE NDA GOVERNMENT KNOWS BETTER THAN YOU DO. OR MAYBE THEY’RE JUST NOT LOOSE CANNONS LIKE YOU?].Shekhar Gupta was also one of the characters who had a price tag attached to his pen... 'journalism of courage' I think he called it. He was sitting on the Press Council, maybe even heading it. Look what these people did to the TSD among other things...

Look treason is treason... I think these cases should be looked at even now [I REPEAT MY OBSERVATION ABOVE.] Quite frankly the Siachen sell-out by itself is something that needs to be enquired into. From what I remember once they were exposed the facts were quite cut and dry. You give them a free rope this rubbish will carry on ad nauseam. It’s pretty obvious some one sitting somewhere is coordinating this entire exercise [WHO IS VK SINGH TRYING TO BLAME … THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE? OR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL?]

SKV: Why not give a regular update officially. I suggested that yesterday in my article in the Sunday Guardian...

VKS: Well, as a one-time thing since these chaps are hell bent on spreading panic, maybe. Briefings have a time and place and not because some ignoramuses are clamouring for it on behalf of their handlers. [NO, ACTUALLY BRIEFINGS ARE HELD PRECISELY TO PUT THE FACTS ON THE TABLE AND REDUCE THE SPACE FOR IGNORAMUSES TO SPREAD FALSE NEWS. BUT COULD IT HAVE BEEN THAT THE FACTS WERE TOO INCONVENIENT TO BE PUT ON THE TABLE?] But I don't see the Chinese telling us through any self-styled experts what their game plan is. The people in question here are all intelligent characters and they are doing what they are doing with their eyes wide open. The language and terms being used by Ajai Shukla is mirroring Chinese perceptions. [ACTUALLY, AJAI SHUKLA CONSISTENTLY REBUTTED CHINESE PERCEPTIONS BY REVEALING THAT THE PLA WAS IN INDIAN TERRITORY. THE CHINESE LIE – WHICH WAS THAT THE PLA IS IN CHINESE TERRITORY – WAS STEADFASTLY REPEATED BY THE GOVT, INCLUDING BY VK SINGH ABOVE. THEREBY, THESE OFFICIALS ENDORSED THE CHINESE POSITION THAT THE ENTIRE AREA THE PLA WAS PRESENT IN WAS CHINESE TERRITORY] The trouble is these guys are also hiding under the freedom accorded to the press under our constitution [YES, LET’S DO AWAY WITH FREEDOM OF THE PRESS!]. As far as I am concerned, they are traitors... and I don't use that word off the cuff or lightly! [OF COURSE NOT. YOU’RE RENOWNED FOR WEIGHING YOUR WORDS] We can all see the frustration building up among certain political circles. These are tough times but the self-styled leaders of the opposition and the Chinese together need to create as many cracks to make the government of the day look vulnerable... in the case of the former they must remember the saying... don't cut the nose to spite the face! 

[AMAZING: THE PEOPLE AGREEING WITH THE CHINESE ARE STYLING THEMSELVES AS PATRIOTS… AND THOSE ACCUSING THE CHINESE OF OCCUPYING INDIAN TERRITORY ARE TRAITORS. GOOD LUCK WITH SQUARING THAT CIRCLE. THE PEOPLE OF INDIA ARE NOT SUCH FOOLS THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THAT CONTRADICTION]

46 comments:

  1. Amazing, how a former COAS can stoop so low and endorse position of the enemy. This begs the question how Singh bagged posts in the past. Patriarchally to say " we have freedom of press.. traitors etc" is height of hypocrisy. If it were to him & consorts, the would do away with freedom of press, lest someone is asking how much nibbling has& is happening.Carry on Mr Shukla, Satyameve Jayete!

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  2. Hard Hitting Rebuttal... 👍

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  3. Actually ajai Shukla is not a traitor those who sell our land to china and hiding information regarding intrusion and dealing of land to china of their fear..actualy vk singh and all Modi govt are traitor ..our country never forgive for this ..

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  4. VKS is nailed . China has really done what it does well slicing Indian Territory no harm in admitting.

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  5. You have been consistently writing your analysis on irrefutable evidence. That has put the government in difficult position. True journalism.

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  6. Mr Shukla, I have followed your blog for a long time and can see that your articles are always biased (you may deny it but I am the reader). I want to know why did you quit the army? (I know you will be mad at this)

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  7. Birinder S Sidhu13 July 2020 at 17:54

    What a liar. From Gen V K Singh to Chowkidar V K Singh. This is the ethos of a former COAS. A shameful bigot.

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  8. A very good rebuttal to someone who who was COAS and still not trusted with anything related to defence. I wonder how many of such bootlicking senior army men are still in our fauj

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  9. "THE PEOPLE OF INDIA ARE NOT SUCH FOOLS THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THAT CONTRADICTION" - Regrettably, people of India ARE damn fools. How else would Modiji get elected twice?

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  10. Sir let us not forget the fact that VKS is a politician that too A BJP POLITICIAN.

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  11. Good rebuttal!

    Both sides have stated facts correctly. Ajai is correct from the tactical point of view. VK Singh is correct from the strategic point of view.
    Since March 2020, the Army was in an 'Overdrive' for COVID protection. They grounded all Troops activities in Leh War-Zone, and not only put masks over their mouths & noses, but over their 'eyes' as well. All Battle Indications of Chinese Troops build-up were there. Besides,even the Chinese Global Times newspaper had given coverage to PLA Combined Arms exercises involving newly introduced tanks and howitzers in Southern Xinjiang. Just as Pakistan carried out mobilisation and preventive deployments during our 'Brasstacks' Exercise, our Army Hqs should have reacted. But they were not alert. Agreed, that these are uninhabited high altitude waste lands and the PLA would be forced to withdraw when winter sets in, and 2021 March would see another round of prepared responses by the Indian Army. Therefore 'kudos' to Ajai to remove the haze, and keep our countrymen fully informed of the 'clear and present danger' unlike what happened in 1962.

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  12. Good response Sir.

    It takes courage to write the truth as you see and understand it.
    If anything you said is factually incorrect then that should be proved with counter-arguments and supporting facts, and not by indulging in personal attacks, or in character assassination by attributing ill motives.

    It's worrying to see a formal COAS and current government minister doing this.
    You are writing inconvenient truths, and rather than having the courage and character (befitting an Army General) to accept what has happened, he seems to be indulging in personal attacks and character assassination. What a Shame.

    So much for the bravado of just last year someone claiming in the Parliament that Aksai Chin belongs to India and that he will give his blood for it, and now?

    Facts, as you see them, maybe incorrect, but you have every right to put them and ask the inconvenient questions as you please.

    Thanks for your courage to keep putting the facts on the ground in front of the Indian Public despite such shameful personal attacks be it in social media or in official communications.

    All the very best and may the force be with you.

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  13. Very demeaning and unprofessional to bring out your organisation in such poor light.

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    Replies
    1. It's important to stand with truth not with deceit and lies.

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  14. Brilliant! Hats-off to Ajai for letting us know the actual situation. Its getting tough these days to get real news out of many "made-up" news.

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  15. I think, we must not take seriously a sell out, who is a bjp minister in guise of former Army chief

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  16. Mr Shukla should learn how rebuttal is done. You need evidence to support what you say. In the interview with Thapar (son of the former COAS who was removed after 1962), his evidence is "sources". Mere denials has no value.

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  17. VKS even fudged his age. Where’s his credibility?

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  18. Bravo Ajai Sir. Everyone know that you are correct. Some people cannot accept truth and are misleading to please the government.

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  19. Don't tell me what has happened. Tell me what I want to hear! I want to hear and see the Indian Tricolor flying high in Lhasa, Tibet. I want to hear Tibet is liberated and so is Xinjiang. How can India do this, is what I want to hear. It may take a few years or a half century, but Buddhist Tibet should become FREE! Forget the Indian Army, they are a bunch of assholes, waiting to retire! I want to hear India, as a nation, committing itself to achieve Tibetan Independence. Even if it means, whoever comes in the middle is crushed, be it the PLA or the Maoists. We will dispatch them, post haste, to hell. This is no trivial task, for if it were trivial, I would let the Indian Army take care of it. But to achieve this goal, we need more than Indian Army, we need an army of zealots and fanatics (not the crackpot religious types, but scientific types), who can ensure that things get done, be it in research, production, construction and destruction. Ajai, don't get so rankled by some politicians words. Take the politicians criticism as a compliment, which shows you have hit your target in the bullseye.

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  20. Prabal Malaker14 July 2020 at 00:48

    Brilliant and logical rebuttal. Your courage of conviction with no fear nor favour to anyone is commendable. Kudos and Jai Hind

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  21. I would have regarded Colonel Ajay Shukla in high esteem, for all his bold views and opinions, but to say something against the former Army General V. K. Singh, the topmost person in the army rank, is not easy to digest and which infact reduces my regard and faith in Colonel Ajay Shukla.

    We are doubting the integrity of our top army Generals, which is not good for the country.

    Any admission by the Government that the enemy is at our doorstep, immediately calls for a strong action by the nation, which has a potential to escalate towards a full blown war, beyond control, and hence the Government has to make very calculated media briefings and keep a room/space available for diplomacy.

    I am not totally rejecting Ajay Shukla's claims, but doing a personal attack on the former Army General, shows Colonel Ajay Shukla in a poor light, hopefully he realizes some day of what damage he has done by his "Leftist" Activism.

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    1. What's stopping you to reveal your name? Attacking is fine, if one can close his eyes, and speak shit and be hand in glove with govt, forgetting the chetwood motto.

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  22. Thank you for addressing this. VK Singh's comment has been damaging and should not have been left unaddressed. People in my friend circle atleast, keen to believe positive news have clung to his explanation as your reporting depresses them. Had you left it without rebuttal, I would have been left wondering about your Congress connections as well. Now that you have received naked threat from a sitting MLA, do make sure you have a will. Dangerous line of work

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  23. Great rebuttal. Please keep exposing this government of liars. VKS has no standing and expects people to believe him only because he is a former COAS. If the Chinese are and we're in their own territory, why did we lose 20 gallant men?

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  24. Excellent rebuttal. Every one is this government is a liar. VKS is a disgrace to the uniform. Why were we fighting and why did we lose 20 gallant men if the Chinese had not intruded into our territory? Raises more questions certainly.

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  25. VKS has been erring right from the time he filled up his NDA form and wrote wrong dob. He still is erring. It seems to have become a habit with him.

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  26. Very well countered. I wonder how such people (VKS) can go up the ladder and reach the highest post in the military establishment of the state. It doesn't say anything positive for the Indian Army. No wonder China takes India as an easy game. Keep your cool and no need to lose your wit, Ajai Shukla as an ex-military man, and carry on with your research to expose the rot that has set in in the State apparatus. Be assured that right-thinking people are always on your side as long as the real (undeniable) facts are based on your assessment.

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  27. Excellent work by Ajai sir and reply to many others who question the journalist instead of the government.

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  28. Great rebuttal sir!! History will do the right distinction.

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  29. It's very sad to see a former Chief being uncontrolled in his words. His credibility is already low and has gone lower in this interview. Why is an Army spokesman or an authorised Govt spokesman not logically debunking Ajai's logically argued earlier post. Does someone who does not agree with this venal govt become automatically a traitor? Ajai has emphatically claimed that we have lost more territory than hithertofore post 1962. Is it correct? Will the Govt again confirm that PP 14 is held by us in no uncertain terms?

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  30. Ajai Shukla sir, you have done an excellent job of bringing out the true situation at the Line of Actual Control between India and China. The government seems to be rattled by your blog. I watched your interview with Karan Thapar. You mentioned that the Army is toeing the line given out by NSA Ajit Doval. This seems to have rankled someone very high up in the government. Hence, former Army General VK Singh has given this Facebook interview to specifically badmouth you. It seems rather churlish on the part of a former Army General to not check his facts before saying something.

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  31. Modi government has been a grand failure on all fronts, be it economy or foreign policy or national security or the welfare of its key supporters, the Hindus. Any time, a new policy comes out of this government, ordinary people die, left and right! The buck ultimately stops with Mr. Modi. His insecurity and mismanagement has resulted in hiring loyal followers of low intellect and caliber to the top leadership posts of his government. It has brought nothing but misery to all Indians. Even his father wouldn't let Mr. Modi anywhere near the tea shop, lest he would bankrupt that too!

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  32. # vk singh babu did not fudge his age. he was short of the minimum age during his final year while at school and wished to appear for the UPSC's NDA examinations. it is to his credit that he was young for his class. seeing his disappointment his teacher merely fudged his age up to make him eligible. remember, at this time [and until not too long ago], an entire two generations date of birth information was taken as the DOB as given in the school leaving exams certificate. VK singh babu was aware of this and merely thought he could correct it. while we are very good at hair splitting argument, desis are not too great at internalising the foundations of jurisprudence. VK singh babu's case comes under the doctrine of 'estoppel'. a fact not denied earlier cannot be pleaded now. VK singh babu had enjoyed the advantage of the 'fudge'. if he were to succeed in establishing that his date of birth was indeed later, then he would fall to the doctrine of 'ab initio void'. that he was underage at the time of commissioning and hence his commission and subsequent service would all be deemed to be unlawful. in plain english, one cant have one's cake and eat it too. to base VK singh babu's credibility on a fudge committed by a well meaning teacher when he was a juvenile adolescent below the age that the law has fixed for a person to understand his legal obligations would amount to tarring VK singh babu with an ad hominem attack.
    # in an editorial in the calcutta telegraph on 14 jul, the august editorial writers reminded readers that a recent joint letter sent by 140 ex-servicemen to our rashtrapati expressing their anguish on the handling of the recent incidents in eastern ladakh, was from 'persons whose lives are an example to this country'. both vk singh babu, and ajai shukla babu are ex-servicemen and for two highly regarded, respected members of the exemplary in ever way fauji fraternity to brawl in public is not seemly.

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    1. In simple words he wanted to remain in office for one more year because he is power hungry. That is why he is not even a junior minister for defense.Even the goverment he serves doesn't consider him capable for the position of Min of State for Defense.
      Whether an ex Chief of army pusue a career in politics is debatable, even if he does so, he should not accept any rank other than that of Cabinet minister

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  33. Scylla & Charybdis15 July 2020 at 02:17

    Amusing to read a former COAS cast in the role of a " presstitute" outhout of his own choosing at a time of his own choosing through a mouthpiece of his own choosing for a dispensation of his own choosing

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  34. Scylla & Charybdis15 July 2020 at 02:27

    Recollect that the Hon'ble Judges of the Supreme Court allowed VK Singh Babuji to withdraw his Petition against the then Govt of India ( Congress led dispensation)

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  35. Well argued Col Shukla. I wonder why Mr. Modi does not realize that support for him would actually increase if he told the truth and said we will retaliate in non-military ways for now.

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  36. Well written, Col. Shukla. I particularly disliked the passive aggressive use of terms like "handlers" by Gen. Singh. And he brought up the TSD? That still rankles him :)

    As for the Chinese, they are absolutely not playing chess. They are playing Wéiqí (commonly known as Go) and are doing it well. The hon. junior minister might not be interested in the strategy and subtleties of the game or what it means for the geopolitical future of the region. These are times when the countries "leadership" makes "unproud" of being Indian.

    The Chinese are having their cake and eating it too, while we cant even kick Huawei out of BSNL, let alone all the remaining telecom infra... Shame on us.

    Col. Shukla : Thanks for the reporting the news as it is.

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  37. @ Scylla & Charybdis : What a lovely handle ! Are you the one between the two OR is there a more interesting reference?

    Pray tell !

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  38. Anonymous, Great counter by Ajai Sir, true patriot with courage,keep going Sir,we need people like u , for the nation ,let truth prevail. Jai Bharat!

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  39. Colonel Sahib
    Great going Sir...an armoured thrust deep into your opponents rear!
    But seriously, there is something wrong in a system where people like VKS and BSR acheive COAS rank. In the private sector, for instance, they would have been filtered out.

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  40. Way to go AS. Sad to see an ex COAS do this.

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  41. Col Ajai Shukla has articulated his view in an apt manner. If Gen V K Singh is to be believed, then all other army commanders are wrong on Chinese intrusions. He is one General who has failed to uphold the glory of the institution he served

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  42. Nice blog keep on wring more like these it will also motivate us
    Why are Modi supporters still supporting him?

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