The speed with which the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was created and Gen. Bipin Rawat appointed as the first CDS shows that it was done precisely to coincide with the retirement of Gen. Rawat as the Army Chief and as a reward for his subtle political leanings by way of his controversial utterances that were music to the ears of the powers that be. After having compromised the independence of many other institutions like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the judiciary, the government has now turned its attention to the hitherto-apolitical military services.
V. Padmanabhan,
Bengaluru
