President Pranab Mukherjee refers BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's letter to the Government. In a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, he said, 'The timing of this proposed announcement will, inter alia, ensure that the COAS office is politicized and the armed forces demoralised.' Swamy said, 'The present government's endeavour to announce the next COAS is in direct contravention to the established convention, both in terms of time frame and also with regards to certain ongoing investigations that are currently before the judicial system.'.