Lt. Gen. (retired) Tejinder Singh, who has been accused of attempting to bribe Army Chief General V. K. Singh, has rubbished the allegations leveled against him.
"No such offer has ever been made by me to him. He very slyly at some stage, we don't know exactly when, went to Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) and named me as a person who had offered him a bribe, basically to pursue one of his devious agendas," said Retired Lt. Gen. Singh in an exclusive interview.
"And what that agenda is that will become known very clearly during the trial in the court," he added.
Lt. Gen (Retd) Singh further claimed that in September 2010, he had approached General V. K. Singh to recommend him for a government job in the civilian intelligence department.
He also said a lower court in New Delhi had held that allegations depicted in a press release issued by the Army Headquarters on behalf of General V K Singh were defamatory and malafide.
"In end-September 2010, I was looking forward to the chairmanship of a civilian intelligence agency of the country. So, I was looking for a job in the government. I could not have been working for anybody else and offering the chief a bribe when I am looking for a job in the government in which I am asking him to recommend me. So, what he is telling is a total lie," said Lt. Gen (Retd) Singh.
"One thing more I want to add that the honourable Metropolitan Magistrate has held that the allegations laid by the Army Headquarters in the press release on behalf of General V. K. Singh are defamatory and malafide," he added.
Lt. Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh also alleged that General V K Singh was scared of him since he could have revealed some adverse matter pertaining to the COAS (Chief of Army Staff) to the Defence Minister.
"And he was scared that I may go and reveal this matter to Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister). So 18 months ago, he goes and reports about me to Raksha Mantri to discredit me," he said.
The Army Headquarters in a press release on March 5 had accused Lt. Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh of having attempted to bribe the Army Chief.
Later in an interview, General Singh had alleged that a defence equipment lobbyist (without naming Tejinder) had offered him Rs. 14 crores to approve the purchase of 600 sub-standard vehicles and that he had reported the matter to Defence Minister A.K. Antony.