Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi took an interview of the 10th and last Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik. The former governor of Jammu and Kashmir had been in charge when the Pulwama attack happened, he has also been vocal in criticising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi administration, especially during the Farmers’ Protest.
Satya Pal Malik remained the governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019. Later, he moved to Goa, becoming 18th governor, and also served as the 21st Governor of Meghalaya until October 2022.
Notably, on 8 November 2021, Malik was invited to Global Jat Summit and in his speech, he warned the Indian government regarding the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest and said “you will not be able to overcome the Sikhs”
Rahul Gandhi snippets of the interview on ‘X’ , where the two politicians are seen discussing the Adani Group and allegations against the conglomerate, the 2019 Pulwama attack, and Malik’s desire to go to back to his early days as a politicians.
‘Will this dialogue increase the ED-CBI race?’ Rahul Gandhi captioned his tweet.
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Here’s what Malik and Gandhi discussed
On 2019 Pulwama attack
–Blames PM Modi government:
Satya Pal Malik told Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the 2019 Pulwama attack was a lapse on the part of the government.
–Used Pulama attack for election:
“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, PM Modi gave his speech where he used it politically,” Satya Pal Malik said.
–PM Modi Govt did not provide aircraft:
“Why did the Pulwama incident happen? They had asked for 5 aircraft. Had he asked me, I would have given those right away. I provided aircraft to students stuck in the snow. 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.
–Explosives were sent from Pakistan:
“The explosive-laden truck that attacked the CRPF vehicle was roaming in the area for around 10-12 days…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,” Satya Pal Malik said.
-Rahul Gandhi was locked in a room:
Speaking on Pulwama, Rahul Gandhi 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.
On Adani-Hindenburg row
–Where did the ₹20,000 crore investment come from?
Satya Pal Malik talked about the ₹20,000 crore investment that the Adani Group secured and was brought up by Rahul Gandhi in Parliament. He asked where did the group secure such a huge amount.
-PM Modi failed on MSP promise because of Adani:
Satya Pal Malik told Rahul Gandhi that the government failed to keep its promise on MSP because Adani built huge go-downs, purchased crops at a lower price.
“Next year, their prices will increase and he will sell those. If MSP is implemented, a farmer won’t sell his products to them at a cheaper rate,” Satya Pal Malik said.
On Manipur incident
–Another failure of PM Modi government:
Malik told Rahul Gandhi that Manipur situation is another failure of the PM Modi government, wherein the CM (Biren Singh) has also failed. Malik also pointed out how the chief minister has also not been removed yet.
‘North East settled tha, inhone (PM Modi and CM Biren Singh govt) disturb kar diya’, [North east was a sttled place, they disturbed it)Malik said.
Satya Pal 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,” Satya Pal Malik said.
Satya Pal Malik also mentioned that he was punished by being posted in Meghalaya as a Governor because he had talked about corruption in Goa.
On Farmers’ Protest and Agniveer
-Satya Pal Malik said that the PM Modi government has finished everything in the country,. There is no education, no health services, no employment, Malik told Rahul Gandhi. He further added that the PM Modi government has finished the farmers who protested in 2021. He also said that the government has destroyed the Indian Defense Forces with Agniveer.
PM Modi’s ‘distraction policy’, Women’s Bill
Rahul Gandhi and Satya Pal Malik said that whenever anybody raises voice against the PM Modi government, the latter engages a ‘gimmick’ to distract the Indian citizen. Satya Pal Malik also remarked that the PM Modi government will ‘never’ implement the women’s bill. He said ‘Ayyegi nahin kabhi wo’
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Updated: 25 Oct 2023, 07:03 PM IST