Pulwama attack happened due to our lapses, PM Modi asked me to keep quiet on it: Former J&K governor
Startling revealations also include "CRPF had asked aircraft, was denied by Home Ministry"
New Delhi: Former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, has made a startling revelation about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance on corruption. In an interview with 'The Wire,' Malik stated, "Mein safely keh sakta hoon Prime Minister ko corruption se bahut nafrat nahin hain" ("I can safely say the PM has no real problem with corruption"). This statement is likely to cause political upheaval in the Modi government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik was the governor during the Pulwama terrorist attack in February 2019 and the revocation of Article 370 in August of the same year. He accused the Indian system, specifically the CRPF and the home ministry, of incompetence and negligence in handling the Pulwama attack. He revealed that the CRPF had requested aircraft to transport its jawans but was refused by the Union home ministry. He also said that the route was not sanitized effectively.
In the interview, Malik accused the prime minister of being "ill-informed" and "ignorant" about Kashmir. He also stated that Modi had instructed him not to speak about the Union home ministry's lapses that led to the Pulwama attack. Malik raised these lapses with Modi during a phone call shortly after the attack, but Modi allegedly asked him to keep quiet about it. Malik also claimed that NSA Ajit Doval instructed him to remain silent on the issue. According to Malik, the intention was to put the blame on Pakistan and derive electoral benefits for the BJP and the government.
Malik further revealed that he was approached by BJP-RSS leader Ram Madhav to clear a hydro-electric scheme and a Reliance insurance scheme during his tenure as governor of J&K. However, he refused to do so, saying "Mein ghalat kaam nahin karoonga" ("I won't do a wrong thing"). Malik added that Madhav visited him at seven in the morning to try to persuade him to change his mind. He claims that people were telling him he could receive Rs 300 crores for clearing both schemes at that time.
Malik accused the prime minister of not being concerned about corruption and stated that he was removed as governor of Goa in August 2020 and sent to Meghalaya because he had brought to Modi's attention several instances of corruption, which the government chose to ignore. He alleged that people around the prime minister were involved in corruption and often used the PMO's name. Malik said he had brought this to Modi's attention, but the PM did not seem to care.
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RCB pip CSK by two runs in last-ball IPL thriller
Bengaluru: Ayush Mhatre's 94 and Ravindra Jadeja's 77 not out went in vain as Royal Challengers Bengaluru pipped Chennai Super Kings by two runs in their IPL match here on Saturday.
Chasing 214, CSK scored 211 for 5 in their 20 overs.
Mhatre scored a 48-ball 94 with five sixes and nine fours while adding 114 runs with Jadeja (77 not out off 45 balls, 8x4s, 2x6s) for the second wicket.
For RCB, Lungi Ngidi returned with figures of 3/30.
Earlier, half-centuries from Jacob Bethell (55), Virat Kohli (62) and Romario Shepherd (53 not out) took RCB to 213 for five.
While Bethell and Kohli put on 97 runs for the opening wicket to set a platform, Shepherd blasted four fours and six sixes to make 53 not out off only 14 balls, recording the fastest fifty of the season and joint second-fastest overall.
For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana found his rhythm and lengths to return 3-0-36-3.
Brief scores:
RCB: 213 for 5 in 20 overs (Jacob Bethell 55, Virat Kohli 62, Romario Shepherd 53 not out; Matheesha Pathirana 3/36).
CSK: 211 for 5 in 20 overs (Ayush Mhatre 94, Ravindra Jadeja 77 not out; Lungi Ngidi 3/30).
