Congress leader Manish Tewari questions next Army chief's appointment, says seniority overlooked

The appointment of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next Chief of Army Staff has sparked off a controversy on Saturday with Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari saying the government had not respected seniority while making the decision.

The Congress Spokesperson took to social media platform Twitter and questioned the appointment of Lt Gen Rawat in a series of tweets, stating the fact that Lt Gen Rawat was fourth as per seniority and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi why General officers senior to him were ignored for the top job of the Indian Army.

2/2 Why has third senior most officerLt Gen Bipin Rawat with due respects to his professionalism superseded other two in a herarichal force?

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) December 17, 2016

3/3 correctionGen Rawat is not third but fourth senior most. Even Lt Gen BS Negi Army commander Central Command is senior to him ? Why Mr PM

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) December 17, 2016

Lt Gen Rawat,currently serving as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, superseded senior most army commander Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, who headed the Eastern Command and was next in line to be the army chief, besides Southern Command Chief Mohamed Ali Hariz.

Lt Gen Rawat has handled various operational responsibilities in many areas, including along the LoC with Pakistan, the LAC with China and in the North-East.

Also Read: Lt Gen Bipin Rawat appointed new Army Chief, BS Dhanoa to be new chief of Air Staff