New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared a video of his recent meeting with former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik where the latter talked about several issues including the Pulwama attack, Adani issue, Manipur violence, caste census, among others.
Accusing the government for its “lapses” that led to the Pulwama attack in 2019, Malik said a systemic failure led to the deaths of 40 CRPF soldiers.
“Why did the Pulwama incident happen? They had asked for five aircraft. Had I been asked, I would have given those right away. I provided aircraft to students stuck in the snow. It is easy to get aircraft on rent in Delhi. But their application was lying for four months in the home ministry. And then it was rejected. The CRPF personnel then took the road which was known to be unsafe,” Malik said.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to remain quiet when he flagged the security lapses that resulted in the Pulwama incident.
“When the Pulwama incident happened, I tried to contact PM Modi. He called me back at around 5-6 pm. I told him that it was our fault that so many CRPF personnel were killed. He asked me to not say this anywhere. Then NSA Ajit Doval, who was my classmate, called and asked me not to say this anywhere. By that time, I had already told this to two channels. Later, I thought my statements might impact the investigation, but there was no probe. It was used for the purpose of election. On the third day, PM Modi gave his speech where he used it politically,” the former Jammu and Kashmir Governor said.
Speaking on the Manipur issue, Malik said the situation was normal and “settled” in the northeast state till the government “disturbed” it. He alleged it was the “failure of the government” that led to the ethnic clashes and the ensuing violence in Manipur.
Asked about his opinion on caste census, Malik said, “Since I have been a Lohiaite, he had once said that I want a committee for Goa’s freedom. Whenever I formed a committee, somehow 48 percent turned out to upper castes. It has become a system here.”
When Rahul Gandhi asked about the issue of media manipulation and how some “important topics” such as the Adani issue or caste census were being left out, Malik said, “You have now stuck Adani's name to him. That won’t go away easily now. People are saying its his money that is with Adani. You (Rahul Gandhi) spoke about Rs 20,000 crore. Where did this huge investment come from?”
Highlighting the government’s “gimmicks” to distract the public from the pressing issues of the country, Rahul Gandhi said when he had raised the Adani issue, he was expelled from the Parliament, and in the special session, there was discussion on the Women’s Reservation Bill.