Rahul discusses revocation of Article 370, Pulwama terror attack with ex-J&K Guv Satya Pal Malik

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared the interview of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik in which they discussed Pulwama terror attack, the statehood of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir among others.

Malik in his conversation with Rahul Gandhi, on October 14, said that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir should be returned as the people are unhappy. He also said that the government’s lapses led to the February 14, 2019 Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed.

Rahul Gandhi while sharing the post on X, said, “Will this conversation create a stir amid ED-CBI?”

In his conversation with Malik, Rahul Gandhi asked him that during his tenure it was the most complicated time. He said while referring to the revocation of Article 370 and the state being bifurcated as union territory.

To this, Malik said, “In my opinion, you cannot keep Jammu and Kashmir by force and through armed forces. You can do anything by winning the trust of the people.”

To this Rahul Gandhi again asked him how Jammu and Kashmir will return to normalcy, to which Malik said that the government must restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Revocation of Article 370 and removal of the statehood of the state was most painful for the people. I felt that the government was thinking that the state police will revolt. They never shared it with me. But the fact was that the Jammu and Kashmir Police remained with the government and the police personnel did not even take leave on the occasion of Eid,” the former governor said, who is at loggerheads with the BJP.

He also said that the statehood must be returned to Jammu and Kashmir and it is also a promise by Amit Shah to the people in Parliament and hold the election immediately.

Rahul Gandhi said that even the people of Jammu are not happy with the government’s decision of taking away the statehood of Kashmir.

Malik then said that I don’t know why they are not doing it. Now the insurgency has again returned and the terrorist activities have increased.

When Rahul Gandhi asked him about the Pulwama terror attack, Malik blamed the government’s lapses for the February 14, 2019 attack.

Speaking on Pulwama, the Congress leader said as soon as he learnt about the incident, he went to the airport to pay his respects to the martyrs. “I was locked inside a room. I felt like it was an event. PM Modi was there. I had to fight my way to get out of the room. It was quite distasteful,” Rahul Gandhi said.

The former governor said that the Prime Minister should have reached Srinagar.

He further said that on the day of the incident he was shooting in Jim Corbett. Then he called me up in evening and he asked me to not to speak on the issue.

“I told two channels that it was our fault but I was asked to not say this anywhere…I thought my statements might impact the investigation, but there was no investigation. It was used for the purpose of election. On the third day, Prime Minister Modi gave his speech where he used it politically,” Malik claimed.

Rahul Gandhi then asked why did the Pulwama incident happen. Malik replied that they (CRPF) had asked for five aircraft. Had he asked me, I would have given those right away as I provided aircraft to students stuck in the snow.

He also said that 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,” the former governor said.

He also said that the explosive-laden truck that attacked the CRPF vehicle was roaming in the area for around 10-12 days and our system was not good.

“The explosives were sent from Pakistan. The driver and the owner of the vehicle had terrorist records. They were arrested and then released several times. But they were not on the radar of the intelligence and on the day of the incident all the link roads were not sanitised and I was in tears after hearing the news,” Malik said.

Rahul Gandhi also talked about the caste-based census and mentioned about his speech in Parliament and asked for Malik’s opinion.

Malik said that we need to make it compulsory and make people aware to come into the system.

As the two leaders discussed the Manipur situation, Malik said the government has no control in Manipur. “But it is only for six months. I can give in writing. They will not come back to power,” Malik added.

The Congress leader also said that how the GST and the demonetisation has hurt the businesses in the country.

IANS