J&K Legislative Council to probe rejection of Gen Singh's letter

Jammu: A day after General (retd) VK Singh failed to appear before its Privileges Committee, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council today said it would probe why its staff had allegedly refused to accept a letter written by the former Army Chief in reply to his summons.Gen Singh informed the Committee that he would appear before it on the next date of summon -- 22 January. "The issue would be probed. It is viewed seriously. How can anybody of our staff refuse to accept any letter sent to the Council office? And for that matter, it was Gen Singh's reply letter to his summon," said Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council chairman Amrit Malhotra.[caption id="attachment_1333855" align="alignleft" width="380"] Former Army Chief Gen VK Singh. AFP[/caption]"It will also be probed on whose direction the staff has refused to take letter of Gen Singh," Malhotra said when asked about media reports on the statement of former Army Chief's aide that Gen Singh had written to the Privileges Committee, which had not accepted his reply and asked him to appear before it in person.Those responsible for refusing to take the reply would be punished, he said, adding that the action amounted to dereliction of duty.Malhotra said he had received a call from the former Army Chief's advocate on Thursday, informing him that he was in Tamil Nadu and would appear in person before the Privileges Committee on the next date of summon -- 22 January."He will appear before the panel on 22 January in person," Malhotra said.Gen Singh had been summoned last year to appear before the Privileges Committee on 9 January to explain his position on his allegations that politicians in the state were paid by the Army.After he failed to appear before the Committee, the panel had issued a summons to him through the Haryana DGP to appear before it on 22 January. The privilege motion against Gen Singh was moved by MLCs Ajay Sadhotra, Rana and Khalid Najeeb Suhrawardy in the last session of the Council, taking cognisance of his allegations during a TV interview in which he had claimed that Army was paying money to politicians in Jammu and Kashmir. PTI