The outgoing army chief, General Bipin Rawat, was on Monday appointed Chief of Defence Staff, a decision that surprised few, particularly after the weekend amendment of the Army Rules 1954 to allow the CDS to serve till the age of 65.

Rawat, 61, was to retire on Tuesday after completing three years as the army chief. He will be the country’s first CDS, a post conceived after the Kargil conflict.

Rawat had endeared himself to the current dispensation with his controversial remarks, the latest being his criticism of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The office of the CDS has been created to facilitate better interoperability between the three armed forces, and the incumbent will also head the department of military affairs.

Congratulating their soon-to-be-former chief, the public relations wing of the army tweeted: “#IndianArmy congratulates General Bipin Rawat on being appointed as the first Chief of the Defence Staff #CDS of the country.

It is a proud & historical (sic) moment. The appointment would bring in enhanced #Synergy #Jointness #Interoperability in the armed forces.”

Even before the announcement had been made late in the night, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and the state BJP tweeted congratulatory messages for the general, who is from the hill state.

Rawat had superseded two of his seniors to be appointed army chief. His controversial remarks as chief include his defence of the use of a human shield by an army officer in Kashmir, and his statement that he wished the protesters in the Valley would turn violent so he could open fire on them.