General Bipin Rawat takes charge as the Chief of the Indian Army. ANI

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 31

Even as General Bipin Rawat took over as the Chief of the Indian Army, the Eastern Army commander, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi on Saturday put to rest all speculation about his resignation and has said that he will continue to lead the eastern command with “full professional sincerity”.It was expected that Lt Gen Bakshi would quit as he was superseded and his junior General Rawat was appointed the chief.Addressing all ranks of the command through video-conferencing from his office at Fort William Kolkata, Lt Gen Bakshi said:  “I convey my best wishes and full support of Eastern Command to Gen Bipin Rawat on having taken over as the Chief of Army Staff.”Lt Gen Bakshi requested that speculations and trolling in media and social media should stop and everyone should focus on contributing their best to the betterment of the Army and the nation, Eastern Command spokesperson Wing Commander SS Birdi said.On Saturday, the new IAF chief Air Chief Marshall BS Dhanoa also assumed command. He is a fighter pilot and led a formation during the 1999 Kargil conflict.