TESTING123
In his petition to court, the General has asked he government to explain why it will not accept his claim that he was born in 1951 and not 1950. The Supreme Court has not indicated if General Singh's petition has been accepted. But the government made its move yesterday, formally requesting the court not to pass any order on the army chief's petition without hearing the government. The General filed two appeals in the last few months with the Defence Ministry, asking that 1951 be agreed upon as his birth date. He opted for the Supreme Court after those appeals were rejected. private
Privately, sources say, the government had been trying to negotiate a compromise with the General -it would state that he had not misrepresented his age, and in exchange, General Singh would retire, as scheduled, at the end of
The General has said that he is not interested in extending his tenure. His court case, he says aims at protecting his "honour and integrity." As the dispute became louder, the government attempted in recent weeks to back the General without changing its stand. Law Minister Salma Khurshid said that "rules are rules," stressing that while nobody doubts the General's word, the records that it must consider cite 1950 as the general's date of birth and cannot be changed at this state.
