:dateline:Former Chief of army staff of India, General V.K. Singh demonstrated his extreme Hindu rightist face by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the second largest Hindu right wing political force in India. �Previously, he had been a team member of Anna Hazare, the pro-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anti-graft crusader.
During his service as Chief of Army staff of India, he illegitimately tried to extend his tenure on the grounds of his date of birth, and to obstruct Sikh General Bikram Singh, who was his successor. The Supreme Court of India termed his efforts as being illegitimate, and refused to extend his tenure. The Union government of India led by Congress also rejected the plea to extend his tenure. Despite the Supreme Court verdict, the RSS, and other Hindu rightist forces, backed V.K. Singh, and issued statements advocating his extension as Army Chief.
Their intention was to realize dreams of materializing a similar environment to that of Pakistan where the Army has many times dethroned the civilian government in a military coup, and assumed charge. Such actions basically show Gen. V.K. Singh to be a Hindu fanatic .
The disintegration of the Anna Hazare team is important step for Indian politics. After having mobilized the civil society of India against the mass level graft in the country, the team became splintered. Anti-Hindutavi leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, and Parshant Bhushan, then quit team Anna. After his retirement, General V.K. Singh joined team Anna, and others Hindu nationalists groups like Kiran Bedi. Such actions also are indicators of the pro-Hindutavi nature of the former army chief. His formal entry into BJP leaves no doubt about his personal politics.
