"The government-Army ties are at an all time low. (It) does highlight how deep the trust deficit is pervading the establishment circles these days," senior BJP leader and the country's former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said.

He also termed as "extremely alarming" the media report of two elite Army units moving towards the Indian capital without notifying the government in January this year.

"If one reads the April 4 report thoroughly, and the several follow-up stories published on April 5, one would have to concede that the reports are extremely alarming," Advani wrote on his blog.

Citing intelligence agencies, the Indian Express newspaper said in a report on Tuesday there was an "unexpected" and "non-notified " movement of two elite army units towards the national capital on the night of Jan. 16.

It was the same day army chief General V.K. Singh approached the country's Supreme Court over his date of birth controversy. The mechanized infantry based in Hisar (a strike formation in northern state of Haryana) moved in the direction of the Indian capital, 150 km away, the paper said.

The movement of the entire unit of mechanized infantry, with Russian-made armored fighting vehicles carried on 48 tank transporters, was confirmed by routine lookouts, it added.

Another unit -- identified as a large element of the 50th Para Brigade based at Agra -- was also moving towards the Indian capital, the report said, raising suspicions of a coup attempt by the army.

However, the Army dismissed coup fears and said that the exercise was to check effectiveness in fog.

<em>Source: NNI</em>