Malik's statements are too 'serious' to be brushed aside and the PM must clarify as it owes an explanation to the nation and the families of the martyred soldiers, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said.
MUMBAI — The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has demanded that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party should come clear on the statements made by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik on various issues, including the Pulwama attacks, here on Saturday.
Terming Malik’s contentions on corruption, farmers and February 2019 Pulwama strikes as ‘grave’ and directly linked with national security, the Congress state president Nana Patole, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase and Shiv Sena (UBT) National Spokesperson Kishore Tiwari have said they must be probed thoroughly.
“Many questions are raised in Malik’s allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to keep silent when the government’s fault was pointed out in the Pulwama attacks that led to the killing of 40 soldiers,” said Patole.
He said doubts are created in public minds if this is true and why the demand to send airplanes for the jawans was rejected, where did the 300 kg RDX used came from and other glaring lapses that pointed a finger at the Modi government.
Tapase said that Malik’s statements are too ‘serious’ to be brushed aside and the PM must clarify as it owes an explanation to the nation and the families of the martyred soldiers.
Tiwari pointed out that Malik’s explosive revelations pointed fingers at the PM, the Home Ministry and Defence Ministry and could have possible ‘national security ramifications’.
“What Malik has exposed may be like the tip of the iceberg. What exactly is underneath that has not yet come to light, what does it portend for the country’s internal and external security, and why it has been kept suppressed for over 4 years,” Tiwari asked, saying this needs an independent investigation.
Referring to Malik’s allegations that RSS leader Ram Madhav had offered him a bribe of Rs 300 crore, the Congress leader said this is coming from a former governor appointed by Modi and BJP who claim that they will not spare any corrupt person. “But now, they are themselves completely silent on this.”
“All these statements made openly by a senior BJP leader deepen the suspicions on the government and so it is up to PM Modi himself to disclose the true facts in this matter,” urged Patole.
Tiwari warned that if the BJP attempts to bury Malik’s allegations under the carpet, then it will be deemed as not only true but tantamount to a deliberate fraud played on the people, the farmers and the soldiers of the country who lay their lives for the nation. — IANS