Satyapal Malik Targets Modi Govt Over Pulwama; 'TRP-Hogging Tactics,' Says BJP

In an interview, former J&K governor Satya Pal Malik made several claims about the handling of the Pulwama attack.

Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Governor and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Satya Pal Malik has ruffled feathers within the ruling party once again on Friday, 14 April, after he claimed that he had apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the alleged security lapses after the Pulwama attack in 2019, but was asked to "keep quiet."

Malik was the Governor of J&K when an attack by terrorists claimed the lives of 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pulawama just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In the one-hour-long interview for The Wire hosted by senior journalist Karan Thapar, Malik has made several explosive claims with regards to the Pulwama attack, PM Modi's approach towards corruption, the appointments by the President's Office and BJP leader Ram Madhav.

The BJP, meanwhile, has called Malik's claims "mere TRP=hogging tactics" and asked "why was he quite all these years."

What Claims did Satya Pal Malik Make in the Interview?

Here some of the key claims made by Malik in the interview:

• Malik claimed that that the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama was a result of “incompetence” of the CRPF and the Home Ministry at the time which was being helmed by Rajnath Singh.

• Malik claimed that the CRPF had asked for five choppers for the jawans to be transported but the same were not approved by the Union Home Ministry.

• He further claimed that after he raised the lapses in a conversation with PM Modi, who at the time was in Jim Corbett, he was allegedly asked to "keep quiet." He said that National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also called him as asked him to "not say anything on the issue."

• "I immediately realised that the blame was going to be put Pakistan, so I should 'stay quiet'," he said.

• Malik also claimed that before the Abrogation of Article 370 that provided special status to J&K, he has told the PM that it would be a "mistake."

• Levelling allegations of corruption against BJP leader Ram Madhav, Malik claimed that he was approached to clear a hydro-electric scheme and a Reliance insurance scheme, that he was told would get him benefits of "up to Rs 300 crores." Malik claimed that he refused to clear the schemes saying, "I won’t do anything wrong.”

'Why Was He Silent All These Years?': BJP

Reacting to Malik's allegations, BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told The Quint that these were claims only to "hog TRPs and get attention."

Responding to the claims of PM Modi asking him to "keep quiet" after the Pulwama attack, Vadakkan said: "Does he has an evidence to establish that?"

"He is trying to get TRP and headlines since he lost his job after completing his term. The PM has been a complete gentleman in treating him well. Why was he quiet all these years? He had made such unsubstantiated claims even during the issue of farm laws," Vadakkan added.

Regarding claims against Madhav, Vadakkan said that Malik was only acting out in response to the defamation case filed by Madhav against him. On 13 April, Madhav sent a defamation notice to Malik over an interview given to a YouTube channel, claiming that Malik made “untrue and defamatory statements to stay relevant in a political circle”.

"Ram Madhav filed a case against him and then comes all of this. Why was he silent till now? And then he says we are just "blaming" Pakistan? Blaming the PM has been his tactic," Vadakkan said.

On Malik's comments on the appointments by the President's office, Vadakkan said that Malik "seems to be unaware of the responsibilities of the President's office and the PMO's."

Insinuating that Malik's claims are false, BJP national spokesperson RP Singh in a response to the questions sent by The Quint over text message, sent a video clip of the Pakistan Assembly from 29 October 2020 in which Pakistan minister Fawad Chadhary is claiming responsibility for the Pulwama attack.

"The success in Pulwama is the success of the people of Pakistan in the leadership of Imran Khan," Chaudhary can be heard saying in the clip.

'The PM Must Answer': Congress Launches Attack

Reacting to Malik's interview, the Congress party on Saturday demanded answers on the allegations.

In a press briefing, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked why were the CRPF personnel denied aircraft, adding that this is a "matter of national security."

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate questioned why the Centre had ignored intelligence inputs ahead of the attack.

"Why were the Jaish threats ignored? Why were 11 intelligence inputs, between 2 January, 2019 and 13 February, 2019 that had warned of a terror attack ignored? How could militants procured 300 kgs of RDX?" Shrinate asked.

She further asked the status of the probe in the Pulwama terror attack and asked who will fix the "accountability for NSA Ajit Doval and Rajnath Singh."

Other Allegations Made By Malik

• Malik claimed that appointments made by President Droupadi Murmu's office are "vetted by the PMO."

• Malik said that the Modi government has suffered serious damage due to the allegations against business tycoon Gautam Adani and that it was a mistake to "not let Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speak in the Parliament."

• He also said that the Modi government mishandled the controversy surrounding the BBC documentary on PM Modi.

• He refuted J&K People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti's claims that Malik had conspired to not allow her to form the government despite having the numbers in November 2018 and ordered the dissolution of the Assembly.