Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has claimed that he was in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the February 14, 2019, Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, and the Prime Minister had asked him to stay silent over some lapses he had flagged.
The Congress, which had made the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack one of the key issues in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections pointing to “failure” of national security and the intelligence apparatus, called on the Government Saturday to respond to the issues and questions that Malik’s remarks had raised.
In an interview Friday to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Malik, Governor of J&K from August 2018 to October 2019, claimed that the Home Ministry had refused to provide five aircraft requisitioned by the CRPF to ferry its personnel which resulted in a large number of security personnel moving by road in a convoy and becoming the target of a deadly terrorist ambush.
“CRPF people (had) asked for aircraft to ferry their people because such a large convoy generally doesn’t travel by road,” Malik said, adding the request was made to the Home Ministry but “they refused to give”.
“Had they asked me, I would have given them the aircraft. Kaise bi deta. They wanted five aircraft. It was not provided…,” Malik said.
“I told (this) to the Prime Minister the same evening…ki yeh hamari galti se hua hai. Agar hum aircraft de deta toh yeh nahin hota. Unhone mujhe kaha ki tum ab chup raho.” (I told him that this happened because of our mistake. Had we provided aircraft this would not have happened. He told me to stay silent).
“I told him that it was our mistake and I had already told this to couple of channels…he said don’t say all this…yeh koi aur cheez hai….woh hume bolne do.” Malik said National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, too, had told him to keep quiet. He said “yeh mat boliye, app chup rahiye.” He is my “class fellow…he can tell me anything…he said Satpal bhai yeh mat kaho.”
“I can share with you that I had sensed that the entire onus was being put on Pakistan so I have to keep quiet,” he said.
“I remember he was in the national Corbett park…He was shooting…There was no phone facility there…after getting out from there he called me from a dhaba…asked me Satpal what happened. I said this has happened…I am distraught…yeh sirf hamari galti se hua…agar hum aircraft de dete toh yeh nahin hota.. Toh unhone kaha ki chup rahiye aap.”
This isn’t the first time Malik had alleged lapses. In an interview to The Indian Express on February 15, a day after the attack, he had said that the attack was partly the result of an intelligence failure, especially due to the fact that security forces could not detect the loading and movement of the explosive-laden Scorpio. “We cannot accept that (intelligence failure). We could not detect or check the vehicle full of explosives moving on the highway. We must accept that we are at fault also,” he had said.
Citing Malik’s remarks, the Congress questioned the Government. The main opposition party had raised the issue of security and intelligence failure in a big way after the Pulwama attack but the February 26 Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force eclipsed this line of attack and reshaped the political narrative.
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