Army chief says was offered Rs 14 crore bribe: Reports

India's army chief General Vijay Kumar Singh has said in a newspaper interview that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by an equipment lobbyist, sparking a furore in parliament on Monday.

Singh, who heads the world's second largest standing army, made the allegations in an interview to The Hindu published on Monday. The army chief said the lobbyist wanted him to clear a tranche of "600 sub-standard vehicles". "Just imagine, one of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore," Singh was quoted as saying. "He was offering a bribe to me, to the army chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me." Singh said he informed the Defence Minister A K Antony about the incident. Parliament was briefly adjourned on Monday after lawmakers sought a debate on the issue. "Already I've taken action," Antony told reporters outside parliament.