NEW DELHI-  India’s main opposition Congress and the Left parties have questioned the appointment of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the new army chief who has superseded by two officers, reported Indian media on Sunday.

"Why has seniority not been respected in appointment of army chief," Manish Tewari, a former government minister and leader of Congress party, said on Twitter. The appointment was also questioned by Communist Party of India leader D Raja.

Indian media reported that it was the first time since 1983 that the most senior candidate had not been chosen to replace an outgoing army chief.

On the other hand the ruling BJP has slammed what it called the “politicising” of a key army appointment. It said that there should be no politics on defence forces asserting that Lt Gen Bipin Rawat has been elevated to the top post considering the current security scenario.

BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma said that the new army chief was chosen from a pool of five senior-most officers, who are all competent, and Rawat’s appointment should not be seen as negative against others. He alleged that politicising the appointment by Congress shows its frustration following successive electoral defeats.

Earlier, Congress and the Left questioned the appointment of the new army chief who is superseded by two officers.

Former army chief General Shankar Roy Chowdhury, however, said he did not agree that the present appointee “has the kind of experience we need” and added that he was “beyond disappointed and anxious” about the move’s impact within the forces. While it was the government’s prerogative to appoint army chief, the decision has opened up a controversy on an issue that is “extremely divisive within the army”, he added.

Lt Gen Bipin Rawat will succeed Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the chief of army staff, who retires at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Air Marshal BS Dhanoa will be the new chief of air staff.

While Air Marshal Dhanoa’s appointment has not surprised anyone, the government has gone against the norm with Lt Gen Rawat, currently the army’s vice-chief — a post he was appointed to only a few months ago. Rawat has superceded two senior officers — Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt Gen PM Hariz — to the post.

The out-of-turn appointment of an officer as army chief is a rare move in independent India’s military history. It is bound to be perceived as part of the creeping politicisation of the strictly apolitical armed forces of the country.

Earlier this year, the government’s over-the-top celebration of a military operation was criticised by sections within the country as part of this trend.

Rawat and Dhanoa are the first high profile defence appointments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Rawat has served in the disputed region of Kashmir along the frontier with Pakistan, where troops of the nuclear-armed nations have been locked in almost daily cross-border firing for months.

He has also served in the insurgency-hit northern states and along the border with China.

The Indian government also announced Anil Dhasmana as the new chief of India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, while Rajiv Jain will head the domestic agency, Intelligence Bureau.

Both will take up their new roles in January, local media reports said.