New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday refused to comment on the controversy around the date of birth of Indian Army Chief General V K Singh.
The Prime Minister, however, said that the issue was a sensitive one.
"It is a sensitive issue. I do not want to comment," the Prime Minister said on the sidelines of a function to launch the book 'The Tribune 13 Years: A Witness to History.
The evasiveness of the Prime Minister came on the eve of the hearing by the Supreme Court of a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Grenadiers association on the age row.
The petition has been filed in support of General Singh by ex-servicemen.
Meanwhile, a day after Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju expressed displeasure at the army chief moving the court on the issue, he met General Singh on Thursday.
Though the details of the meeting were not known, it is believed that things were clarified between the army chief and the Minister of State.
Raju had on Wednesday said that an "unhealthy precedent" was set by the army chief by moving the Supreme Court against the government.
General Singh, a para-commando and veteran of 1971 Indo-Pak war, has been contending that May 10, 1951 should be treated as his actual date of birth as it was mentioned in his matriculation certificate but the Defence Ministry has rejected it as May 10, 1950 is the date entered in his UPSC form for the NDA.
If General Singh's date of birth is taken as May 10, 1951 then he will retire in March 2013 and if May 10, 1950 is accepted then his tenure will come to an end in May 2012. The difference of one year will have an affect on who will succeed him as the next Army Chief.
If he retires on May 31, 2012 then Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Bikram Singh will take over as the next Army Chief, but if he demits office in March 2013 then Northern Army commander Lieutenant General KT Parnaik could take over from him as Lt Gen Bikram Singh will retire later in 2012.
But if General Singh is removed or resigns before May 31, 2012, then Western Command Chief Lieutenant General Shankar Ghosh, who is the senior most serving officer in the Army, will take on as the 27th Chief of the Indian Army.
(With Additional Inputs from PTI)
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