The Pulwama tragedy, Malik says was used by the ‘politicians’ for electoral gains
NB: This interview with Satya Pal Malik is revelatory, and has received over 1.6 million views in 24 hours. Satya Pal Malik is one of the few BJP affiliated politicians who has not indulged in the vicious communal rhetoric of the Sangh Parivar; and moreover, openly stood by the kisans when they were agitating to revoke the Farm laws. DS
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In a highly explosive interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, the last Jammu & Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik painted a fatal image of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his close aides, and the BJP government. Citing instances of the “incompetence” and failure of the Indian system, Malik delved into the details of the Pulwama tragedy and the state of corruption in the Modi regime.
Satya Pal Malik served as the Jammu and Kashmir governor at the time of the abrogation of Article 370, before the erstwhile militarized state was divided and reduced to the status of a Union territory. He had dissolved the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and was the serving governor during the Pulwama terrorist attack of February 2019.
Pulwama attack: our mistake
“I told the Prime Minister it was our mistake, but the PM asked me to keep quiet about it.”
In his interview with Karan Thapar, Malik agreed that Pakistan was made a scapegoat by the Indian government. “The CRPF had sought permission from the Home Ministry for five aircraft to ferry the army convoy. However, the Home Ministry refused to provide the same,” he said. He also highlighted multiple security lapses on the route of the convoy which had eight to ten link roads but was unmanned and not sanitized during the convoy’s passage.
Furthermore, he admitted that it was the system’s failure including himself that a car carrying almost 300 Kgs of RDX explosives roamed freely on Kashmir’s roads and villages for almost two weeks.
The Pulwama tragedy, Malik says was used by the “politicians” for electoral gains during elections. He also said he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Pulwama was a government and systemic mistake, but “he asked me to not say anything about it.”
Kashmir: an ill-informed PM
Malik said that he has a very different opinion of Modi than the rest of the world. Based on his interactions with the PM, Malik describes him as an “ill-informed person.” The Prime Minister has very less knowledge of Kashmir and its real problems, he says adding that he once gave a 20-page note to him about Kashmir but the PM took no cognizance of it, Amit Shah did and continues to though. He also added that the government showed no interest in his multiple impressions offering solutions to resolve issues in Kashmir.
Reinstating that half of Kashmir’s problems are created by Delhi, he says that he was not consulted with or informed about the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. “I assured Mehbooba (Mufti) when she came to see me that the abrogation is not a simple thing to say, it would first come to the parliament. I received a call on the night of August 4 from the Home Minister that I will receive a letter which the committee needs to clear,” he said adding that Malik took no offence despite being the sitting governor of the state with a dissolved Assembly.
“Delhi takes all systems for granted. It is their government.”
He also criticized the government’s decision of reducing Jammu and Kashmir to a Union territory. “They did it out of an unrealistic fear that the police might revolt, and therefore by making it a UT, the police will come under Delhi’s direct control.”
Reminding BJP of its promises, Malik said that the government must restore the statehood status of Jammu and Kashmir and hold free and fair elections, which the region has been denied historically. Malik also mentioned that he has been warned by Modi to never speak on matters pertaining to Kashmir…
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Our Men Didn’t Die So Someone Could Spread Communal Hatred: CRPF
After the truth-shower 