Satya Pal Malik Responds To Amit Shah, Denies Questioning Pulwama Attack After Demitting Office

Satya Pal Malik, who was then governor of J&K, has recently alleged intelligence failures in the Pulwama attack case and that the central government denied aircraft for the movement of CRPF personnel.

Jaipur: Former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik, who is in the media spotlight again for raising serious questions over the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, has responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s charge of raising the issue “only after demitting the office.” Replying to a question on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks that he was "levelling allegations after parting ways with us", Malik said that it is wrong to assume that he raised the issue only after demitting his office.

"It is wrong to state that I raised this issue when I was out of power," the former J&K governor told reporters in Sikar in Rajasthan, adding that he had raised it on the day of the attack.

Pulwama Terror Attack Row 

Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in the terrorist attack on a convoy of security vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in February 2019. Malik, who was then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has recently alleged intelligence failures and that the central government denied aircraft for the movement of security personnel. Malik alo revealed that the Pulwama terror attack was a result of systemic failure, involving gross security and intelligence lapses.

He asserted that the tragedy was exploited for political gains. Malik claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had instructed him to remain silent after he brought to light the security lapses that led to the attack, which resulted in the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on February 14, 2019. Separately, Malik also added that National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had advised him to refrain from speaking about it.

To a question about the allegation that the CBI's recent summons to Malik was linked to his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, Home Minister Shah said such a charge is not true as he was called by the probe agency earlier too.

"I can say with complete conviction that the BJP has done nothing that needs to be covered up. If someone is levelling allegations after parting ways with us, then it should be evaluated accordingly by the media and people," Shah said while speaking to an event organised by a private TV news channel last week.

Rajnath Singh A Serious Candidate For PM Post: Malik

In response to another question, Malik said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is a "serious candidate" for the post of prime minister and that "if it is in his destiny, he will become one". Asked about the BJP's prospects in the Lok Sabha elections next year, he said, "I wish them well, but in politics and elections, no one knows what will happen. The current situation is difficult for them, they will have to do some things."

Malik further claimed that Prime Minister Modi's silence on the Gautam Adani issue will harm him. The prime minister should also speak on the Pulwama issue, he insisted. In the context of Rajasthan where assembly elections are due later this year, Malik said that if the BJP projects Vasundhara Raje as its chief ministerial candidate, its chances of victory will increase.