Pulwama attack aftermath was exploited for political goals: Satya Pal Malik tells Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared a video of his recent meeting with former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik. During the meeting, Malik discussed various issues with Rahul Gandhi, including the Pulwama attack, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Adani group’s involvement, and even delved into his early days in politics.

Malik held the government responsible for the 2019 Pulwama attack and reiterated this in the interview. He acknowledged in two television interviews that it was the government’s fault, but was advised not to share this publicly, fearing it might affect the investigation. However, he later realised there was no real investigation, and the incident was exploited for political purposes, particularly by Prime Minister Modi in a speech on the third day after the attack.

Malik also pointed out that the Pulwama incident occurred because the security forces had requested five aircraft, and he would have readily provided them had he been consulted. He highlighted the delay in the Home Ministry’s response to the request, leading the CRPF personnel to travel via an unsafe route, which ultimately led to the attack. Additionally, he mentioned that the truck carrying explosives used in the attack had been in the area for several days, and the explosives came from Pakistan. The individuals behind the attack had known terrorist links, but were not under the intelligence agencies’ radar.

Regarding the Pulwama incident, Rahul Gandhi mentioned that he rushed to the airport to pay his respects to the martyrs upon hearing about it. However, he described an uncomfortable situation where he felt locked in a room during the event and had to struggle to exit, with Prime Minister Modi also present.

On the topic of Adani, Satya Pal Malik informed Rahul Gandhi that the government failed to uphold its promise on Minimum Support Price (MSP) because the Adani group had constructed large storage facilities and bought crops at lower prices.