PM told me stay silent on Pulwama, says ex-J&K Guv Satya Pal Malik

 Former Governor of J&K Claims CRPF Request for Aircraft Denied by Home Ministry, PM Remained Silent

Satya Pal Malik, the former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has claimed that he had conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019. Malik alleged that the Prime Minister had asked him to remain silent about some issues he had brought up regarding the attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

The Congress party had made the Pulwama terror attack a central issue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, highlighting what they considered to be a failure of national security and intelligence apparatus. In response to Malik's claims, the Congress has called on the government to address the issues and questions raised by his remarks.

Satya Pal Malik, who served as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019, recently gave an interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire. In the interview, Malik alleged that the Home Ministry had declined to provide five aircraft requested by the CRPF to transport its personnel. As a result, a large number of security personnel had to travel by road in a convoy, which eventually became the target of a terrorist ambush, resulting in numerous casualties.

According to Satya Pal Malik, the CRPF had requested aircraft to transport their personnel because such a large convoy typically did not travel by road. Malik stated that the request was made to the Home Ministry, but it was denied.

He also mentioned that had he been asked, he would have provided the aircraft himself, regardless of how he managed to do so. The CRPF had requested five aircraft, but they were not provided, as per Malik's statement.

Satya Pal Malik claimed that he informed the Prime Minister on the evening of the attack that the incident was due to their mistake, and that providing aircraft would have prevented the attack. However, the Prime Minister allegedly asked him to remain silent, stating that it was a different matter.

Malik mentioned that he had already shared this information with a few media channels, but the Prime Minister insisted that he not say anything further. He also claimed that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is his classmate, had asked him to keep quiet and not reveal any details about the incident.

Overall, Malik's statements suggest that there may have been some lapses in providing adequate security measures for the CRPF personnel, and that he was asked to stay silent about these issues by senior officials in the government.

Satya Pal Malik mentioned that he felt that the entire blame for the Pulwama attack was being placed on Pakistan. As a result, he decided to remain silent on the matter. Malik recalled that he had informed the Prime Minister about the attack over the phone. The Prime Minister had been at the national Corbett park, where there was no phone service.

He had later called Malik from a dhaba and asked him about the incident. Malik had expressed his distress over the attack and mentioned that it had occurred due to their mistake in not providing the requested aircraft. The Prime Minister had responded by telling him to stay silent.

Satya Pal Malik had previously highlighted lapses in the handling of the Pulwama attack. In an interview with The Indian Express on February 15, a day after the attack, he had stated that the attack was partly due to an intelligence failure. He had specifically mentioned that the security forces were unable to detect the movement of the explosive-laden Scorpio vehicle. Malik had asserted that such a failure could not be accepted, and had admitted that there were faults on their part as well. This suggests that there may have been multiple lapses in the handling of the Pulwama attack.

The Congress has raised questions regarding the Government's response to Satya Pal Malik's recent remarks. Malik's comments have brought the issue of security and intelligence failure back into the spotlight, which had been overshadowed by the Balakot airstrike in February 2019.

The Congress had previously raised concerns about security and intelligence failure following the Pulwama attack, and has now asked the Government several questions based on Malik's remarks. The party has reiterated some of the questions it had raised after the Pulwama attack. The Congress's statements suggest that it believes the Government needs to address the issues raised by Malik's remarks.

The Congress party has raised questions about the Indian government's handling of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, following recent remarks by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik. Malik claimed that the Home Ministry had refused to provide five aircraft requisitioned by the CRPF to ferry its personnel, resulting in a large number of security personnel moving by road in a convoy and becoming the target of a deadly terrorist ambush. He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to stay silent about the lapses he had flagged.

The Congress had previously raised the issue of security and intelligence failure after the attack, but the Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force had shifted the political narrative. Now, the party has refreshed its charges and asked several questions, including why the CRPF men were not allowed to travel by air, why Jaish threats were ignored, and how the militants had procured such a huge stash of RDX.

In a press conference, the Congress asked about the responsibilities fixed for NSA Ajit Doval and the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and why the Governor was asked by Prime Minister Modi to "keep quiet" after the attack. They also questioned those who were distributing certificates of treason, whether these allegations amounted to treason or not.

According to Khera, the allegations made by Malik are particularly significant because they come from a former Governor who had a close relationship with the Prime Minister. Malik served as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019, and was the last Governor of J&K before the state was divided into two union territories. During his tenure, the BJP government scrapped Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Malik was later transferred to Goa as Governor in November 2019, shortly after the abrogation of Article 370. In August 2020, he was reassigned to Meghalaya. Malik has been frequently critical of the BJP government for some time, and had also spoken out against the Central government over the farmers’ agitation during his tenure as the Governor of Meghalaya.

In October 2021, while serving as the Governor of Meghalaya, Malik had made a claim that he was offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore to clear two files, including one related to an RSS leader. Following this, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered two cases related to the matter and conducted searches at 14 locations in April 2022. The CBI has named officials of Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPPL) and Anil Ambani's Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC), among others, in the two cases. Malik's allegations were seen as a major embarrassment to the BJP, which had appointed him as the Governor of three states.