Video Producer: Divya Uppal
Video Editor: Karuna Mishra
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 25 October, uploaded a video of him interviewing former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on a range of topics.
In the interview, which was shot on 14 October and lasts for almost 30 minutes, Gandhi posed questions to Malik about the Pulwama terrorist attack, 2020-21 farmers' protest, and the controversy surrounding businessman Gautam Adani.
Pulwama terror attack: Malik, who was the governor of J&K at the time the state was re-designated as two union territories, claimed that the 2019 Pulwama terror strike, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in a suicide attack, had been used by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its political ends.
Malik claimed that the CRPF jawans had requested for five aircrafts for transport, but their request was rejected by the Union Home Ministry, thus forcing the soldiers to travel by road. "Their application was lying in the Home Ministry for four months," he said.
Malik further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had asked him not to speak on the issue.
"Besides this, the vehicle which rammed into the CRPF bus was roaming there for 10 days before the incident. It was full of explosives," he told Gandhi.
Article 370: Malik further said that the people of J&K were more hurt by their statehood being taken away than by the abrogation of Article 370. He also demanded for elections to be held at the soonest and statehood to be restored.
Manipur violence: Malik also attacked the Manipur government over the months-long ethnic violence in the northeastern state. "Neither the Chief Minister can go there nor can he do anything. Yet, he has not been removed," he said.
Speaking on the 2020-21 farmers' protest, Malik said that the Centre had assured farmers of the implementation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) but had not yet delivered on its promise. "Because (Gautam) Adani built large godowns and purchased crops at a set price. Next year, their prices will increase and he will sell it,” the former governor said.
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