Wednesday, August 31 2005 15:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Coming down hard on the Government for not clearing the appointment of the country's first ever Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), former Army Chief Gen S Padmanabhan says the Government will be 'ill-informed' if it blocked the appointment in the fear of military posing a threat to democracy.

"Have they not learnt during the 58 years since India attained freedom that the armed forces have been, are and will be apolitical and thus have no Praetorian ambitions", he asks urging the Government to review its stand and give a decision without further delay.

"The delay was making the creation of Integrated Defence staff an 'Exercise in Futility', says the former army chief in a new book 'A General Speaks.'

Strongly repudiating a view that appointment of a CDS would lead to creation of a super joint chief of staff, he disclosed that Arun Singh Committee had never visualised anyone with a 'Five Star' rank occupying the slot.

"In fact, the CDS as per the Kargil committee report is visualised as first among equals," Padamnabhan said in his about to be released new book. In fact, in the narration, the former army chief said even this was not warranted.

"Arun Singh Task Force had conceived CDS as a major managerial functionary as opposed to Command functions", the General said suggesting that even a newly promoted four star General/Flag/Air Officer could be appointed to the post.

The former army chief says "The entire effort in creating an Integrated Defence Staff is, as of now, an exercise in futility as the organisation for which the staff has been created, is headless."

"Infact, without the CDS and VCDS, Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is yet another example of redundancy in military bureaucracy," he says.

He recalls that that one of the positive outcomes of post-Kargil soul-searching was the decision to create the appointments of CDS and the Vice Chief.

They were to be supported by an IDS headed by Chief of Staff (COS).

"Unfortunately, this decision has been implemented only partially as Government approval for creating the appointments of CDS and VCDS has not been given," Gen Padmanabhan says noting.

"We have a situation where the Chief of Staff, ID Sstaff reports to the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committees (COSC),"he said.

"It would appear that the Government has lost sight of the fact that the Chairman, COSC is an appointment tenanted by the senior most of the Service Chiefs and there will be many occasions when he incumbent may have a tenure of as little as one month," he says.

"We have created a 'headless wonder' in the IDS. Will the Government now display the wisdom needed to provide the 'head' so that the organisation may realise the objects for which it was created," he says adding "It is time the Government reviewed its stand on the CDS and gave a decision without further delay."