Article Posted on : - May 23, 2012

Chief of Army Staff Gen VK Singh with Lt Gen Bikram Singh, COAS-designate & GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, interacts with jawans at Fort Williams in Kolkata on Saturday. A PTI photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Days before demitting office, General V K Singh met the Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju for over 20 minutes in his office at the South Block here.

Gen Singh arrived at the office of Minister of State for Defence at around 1230 hours on Tuesday and the meeting lasted for a little over 20 minutes, Sources said, adding that on Monday the Army Chief had sought an appointment with Raju.

Singh is retiring on May 31 and has been touring various Army Commands as part of his farewell visits. He has also addressed a number of Sainik Sammelans in the recent past and has reiterated government's commitment to address their pending issues.

Wednesday, Gen. Singh will attend his farewell dinner hosted by the Defence Minister A K Antony at the Army Battle Honours Mess at Delhi Cantt, followed by a banquet by the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces President Pratibha Patil on May 24.

Gen. Singh's last major function would be the National Defence Academy (NDA) passing out parade on May 30 in Khadakvasla near Pune.

Meanwhile, his successor Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh is supposed to arrive here in the Capital on May 29. The Army Chief-designate is already being briefed on the issues faced by the force by separate directorates.

On May 31, he will take over the command from Gen V K Singh.