New Delhi: The Congress party has slammed the Union government and central agencies like ED and CBI for not investigating the truth behind former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik's allegations.
"Former Governor Satyapal Malik has made sensational revelations in an interview. And now every effort is being made to suppress the things of this interview but the truth will not be suppressed. This is a very serious and important question, which is related to national security," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a press conference on Saturday.
Pulwama attack
In an interview with The Wire, Malik, who was the governor of J&K during the Pulwama terrorist attack in February 2019 and scrapping of Article 370, stated that he was asked to remain silent about the central government's lapses in handling the issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval allegedly asked Malik not to publicise issues relating to Pulwama when he questioned the 'intelligence failures' and 'incompetence' of the Union government.
Malik said that the Union government deliberately avoided sending help like helicopters to the site of attack to gain electoral benefits.
"When Satyapal Malik raises the issue of corruption in Goa in front of PM Modi, he is removed from there in a hurry. When he tells PM Modi on the Pulwama attack – it happened because of our mistake, the PM instructs him to 'keep quiet'. This is the misfortune of the country," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Malik was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir between August 2018 and October 2019, and in October 2021 he was the governor of Meghalaya.
Bribe for clearing 'Ambani' files
Malik has also alleged that the former BJP general secretary and senior RSS functionary Ram Madhav had offered him a bribe of Rs 300 crore to clear two files related to "Ambani" when he was the J-K governor. Madhav has dismissed the allegation as 'totally false'.
"The CBI has already thoroughly investigated the matter. I will be filing defamation charges against the peddlers of these false allegations very soon," the RSS leader said.
“The Prime Minister has no issues with corruption,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted while quoting the Wire's interview with Malik.
"Why is the CBI or ED not knocking at Ram Madhav's doors, given that a former governor has exposed him," Pawan Khera asked on Friday.
The Congress leader said the CBI had openly questioned the former governor at its headquarters but why has Ram Madhav has not been called for questioning yet.
"The ED-CBI raids or interrogates opposition leaders time and again, but why not BJP leaders? Why these double standards?" he said.
Khera also played out the purported interview of Malik.
"If Malik is speaking the truth then why the CBI, ED or other agencies have not taken action against Madhav, else there should be action against Malik if his claims are untrue," he said.
Khera also claimed that Malik has sought Z-plus security as a former governor but he has only been provided a PSO and is living in his own house, whereas former Congres leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has been given a government bungalow and Z-plus security.
(With PTI inputs.)
