In a statement, widely viewed as a bid to mend fences, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. V.K. Singh on Friday offered an olive branch to the government by saying that 'rogue' elements were trying to create a 'schism' between himself and defence minister A.K. Antony but that such projections were 'untrue and need to be guarded against'.

In remarks, widely interpreted as a reciprocal gesture after Mr Antony said on Thursday that the Army chief enjoys the confidence of the government, Gen. Singh said the Army and its chief are part of the government.

However, Gen. Singh did not lose the opportunity to refer to the “retired officer” who allegedly offered him a bribe and said the same person had launched a “smear campaign” that the Army was spying on the defence minister.

The COAS also referred to recent selected leaks of letters and said the Army is duty-bound to serve the country and that the institutional integrity of the Army has to be protected. The COAS also pointed out that sometimes, the Army has to 'look within' and that any rogue elements trying to spread falsehood have to be exposed.

The COAS also said it was 'misleading' on the part of the media to project every issue as a battle between the government and the Army.

“The timing pertaining to the ‘bribe issue’ has also drawn considerable attention. It is pointed out that after the matter was brought to the defence minister’s notice, certain steps had been taken institutionally to keep a wary eye on the retired officer who had offered the bribe.

"Eighteen months later, the person resurfaced in the beginning of March this year and launched a smear campaign under the veil of anonymity, alleging that the Army was snooping on the defence minister. Once the concerned individual had been identified by Army Headquarters, his identity and antecedents were made public,” the COAS said.

Raids at BEML Bengaluru

The CBI on Friday raided the office of the public sector Bharat Earth Movers Limited and the residence of chairman of Vectra group and London-based businessman, Ravi Rishi, in Bengaluru. The Vectra group has a majority stake in the all-terrain Tatra trucks.

Simultaneous raids were conducted in Delhi after the CBI reportedly registered a FIR against Mr. Rishi and unknown officials of BEML, Vectra and the Army under provisions of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to criminal conspiracy and cheating and the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices. The raids in the City were conducted by the anti-corruption wing of the CBI, New Delhi.

‘Boost indigenisation’

Speaking earlier in the day at a defence conference, Defence Expo, the Army Chief said dependence on foreign arms import must be reduced while boosting indigenisation.

“We need to ensure that arms becomes in the ratio of 70-30, in favour of our own industry,” Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh said.

Kumaraswamy opens Pandora’s box

Has former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy opened a Pandora’s box with his casual remark on corruption in defence deals?

A day after Mr Kumaraswamy made the stunning disclosure that he was approached by an arms middleman who offered him a bribe when his father, H.D. Deve Gowda was prime minister, a war of words on Twitter ensued.

Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag (retd.) tweeted, “...former PM (H.D. Deve Gowda) spoke against T90 in Parliament. The rot runs deep! That there were kickbacks in T90 deal is another matter!”

Smita Prakash tweets, “Public memory is short. Former PM son...tried his best to scuttle import & manufacture of T90.” Mr Kumaraswamy remained elusive. But Mr Gowda came on the line, saying: “It was discussed in Parliament. My son was an ordinary MP when this deal was cleared. I have all the documents with me. Let there be a debate, I can speak. These social networking sites are all rubbish.”