On Saturday, the Congress demanded that the Centre should disclose the results of the investigation into the 2019 Pulwama incident, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans. The party also questioned why the paramilitary personnel were made to travel by road despite the threat of a terror attack and why they were not provided with aircraft.
Jairam Ramesh, the general secretary of the Congress, accused the BJP-led Union government of practicing “minimum governance and maximum silence” and urged the government to respond to the allegations made by Satypal Malik, who served as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of the Pulwama terror attack.
He emphasized that it is the government’s responsibility to provide answers and stated that the Congress will continue to raise questions regarding matters of national security.
Despite the release of Malik’s interview with a news portal, the government has not responded. Meanwhile, the BJP has questioned Malik’s credibility and cited various statements made by him in recent years.
In a Hindi tweet tagging the interview, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked, “Whose Rs 20,000 crore is it? Why is the Prime Minister so afraid to answer this question?”
Gandhi repeated Malik’s reported statement in another tweet on Friday night, saying, “The Prime Minister does not seem to hate corruption very much.”
Ramesh also took to Twitter, stating, “The Home Minister should stop acting like Narada Muni and address the serious charges leveled against his Saheb by his own party colleague, Satypal Malik.”
In a separate tweet, Ramesh noted that Malik’s “revelations” give fresh significance to the investigation into the Pulwama incident.
Ramesh declared that former governor Satyapal Malik’s recent interview contained sensational revelations that cannot be suppressed. He emphasized that the questions raised in the interview are crucial for national security and must be addressed.
“We have a duty to ask questions, and we will not stop, no matter how long the Prime Minister remains silent or whatever threats we face,” Ramesh added.
During a joint press conference with party leaders Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate, Ramesh accused the government of creating symbolic buildings of democracy while democracy itself is missing.
More Questions About The Pulwama Attack
Supriya Shrinate questioned why the CRPF personnel were not provided with an aircraft and airlifted during the Pulwama incident. She also asked why the Jaish threats were ignored and why 11 intelligence inputs between January 2, 2019 and February 13, 2019, that had warned of a terror attack, were not taken seriously. She also demanded to know how militants were able to obtain 300 kgs of RDX.
Shrinate further inquired about the current status of the inquiry into the Pulwama terror attack, which has been ongoing for over four years. She sought to know who would be held accountable for the incident, including National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval and former Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.
Pawan Khera also pointed out several questions that were raised by Malik’s interview, including why the Prime Minister asked Malik to “remain silent.”
Amit Malviya, the head of BJP’s IT cell, played videos of Satyapal Malik’s previous remarks in 2018 where he had praised Narendra Modi as the “best for Jammu and Kashmir.” However, Malik has now contradicted himself by stating that the prime minister is “ill-informed about J-K.” Malviya cited the videos from 2018 and 2023 and said, “The best thing about speaking the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you spoke last time.” He also referred to Malik as the “disgraced governor of J-K” and accused him of tying himself in knots. While playing out Malik’s interview, Malviya said, “Satyapal Malik, former Governor of J&K, admits to lying and making up baseless stories on what Home Minister Amit Shah had said about Prime Minister Modi… No one took him seriously even when he made these allegations back then. But it raises serious questions on his credibility.”
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has demanded that the BJP-led central government respond to the allegations made by former Governor Satyapal Malik regarding the Pulwama terror attack.
“The allegations are related to the security of the nation and the martyrdom of jawans. If the former governor has made such serious statements, then it is the responsibility of the Centre to answer them,” Baghel said in a press conference.
Baghel also added that it was crucial to find out why the CRPF personnel were not airlifted despite terror attack threats and why the intelligence inputs warning of an attack were ignored.
“The government must address these questions and concerns, and be accountable for any lapses in security that led to the tragic incident,” he said.