An interview of former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik which attributed the Pulwama terror attack of 2019 to the incompetence of the Modi government has come as a shot in the arm for the opposition parties.
Malik alleged that there was a massive intelligence failure in relation to the attack and made another startling ‘disclosure’ that Modi had no issues with corruption.
The Congress party tweeted the allegations made by Malik, and accused Modi of “suppressing” the incident to “save” his personal image ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“@narendramodi Ji, the Pulwama attack and the martyrdom of 40 brave hearts is because of the mistake of your government. If our jawans had got the aircraft, the terrorist plot would have failed. You had to take action for this mistake and you not only suppressed this matter but also started saving your image. The country is shocked to hear Satyapal Malik’s statement on Pulwama,” the post said in Hindi.
Rahul Gandhi lost no time in tweeting that the ‘prime minister does not hate corruption very much’.
Malik said it was ‘100 per cent an intelligence failure’. The car loaded with an estimated 300kg of explosives had moved around villages in the area for 10-12 days before the bombing and was undetected, he asserted.
Malik said he had not been told in advance about the Modi government’s plan to strip the state of its special status, but he knew it was coming since it had been on the agenda and had been talked about.