Congress in a spot over Manish Tewari's troops comment

The fresh controversy over an alleged unauthorised troop movement during the UPA rule has shown the Opposition party in a poor light as it struggled to deal with the issue in a desperate bid to cover up.

Still the chinks in the Congress set-up showed, with the party officially denying the incident but another former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar supporting the claim of former minister Manish Tewari currently not in the list of favourites.

The 2012 incident had only accentuated the sharp attacks on the then Army chief Gen VK Singh, who was fighting a bitter battle with his political bosses over his age.

The government, which may have leaked the information, did not want to be seen as a party to the fingers that were ostensibly pointed at the then Army chief and raised doubts over his professional approach.

Some in the Congress may still want that to happen as Gen Singh now a junior minister in the NDA government had been targeted by the opposition party over his reported remarks over the killings of two Dalit boys in Haryana comparing them with dogs.

However, the remarks by Tewari and Aiyar may find echo with several others in the Congress who were either part of the government or held important positions in the party. Not many would like speak on it though.

The incident also showed how an embattled UPA kept the controversy around Gen Singh's age and the alleged troop movement under his watch alive by not taking any decisive action in the matter.

The files were quickly forgotten as the UPA government struggled to find reasons for its continuance.

The former government had also denied the allegations of troop preparedness and lack of equipment raised by Gen Singh through a leaked communication rather than addressing the genuine concerns of the security personnel.

The Opposition party must now clean up its house as it settles down in its role of a constructive opposition party and plans revival across states which appear to have forgotten it.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)