SRINAGAR: Demanding probe by a Supreme Court judge into recent revelations by former Army chief General V K Singh about Army financing politicians, a group of mainstream party leaders said this is the only way to clear the air.
“We are astonished and express our serious concern over delay in thorough probe into controversy over alleged misuse of defence funds,” the leaders in a joint statement said.
The statement was issued by Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, State Secretary CPI (M), Hakim Mohammad Yaseen President PDF, Abdul Rashid Kabuli former MP and Chairman JKNDF and Sanjay Saraf National President LJP(Y) here today.
“We think the controversial remarks made by General Singh have further created a chaos and confusion and only a thorough investigation by a credible commission headed by a Supreme Court Judge is need of the hour to clear the air, they said.
They said, “the functioning of TSD and such other units which have been questioned created a dent in accountability and fairness in the entire institution which we believe is fraught with dangerous consequences.”
The revelation has pointed out an institutional decay loaded with serious ramifications for survival of democracy particularly in Jammu and Kashmir where huge sacrifices have been made by the people to strengthen this process.
The leaders said “In our opinion, any overt or covert intervention from the security apparatus in political domain is harmful and does not augur well with the democracy.
It is advisable that all the security agencies must confine themselves to their defined mandate.
It is not surprising that the remarks made by General Singh have acted as music to the ears for a section who is known to be inimical to the democratic process.
We firmly believe that it is finally through the democratic process itself that the will of people will prevail and any speculation before going through the facts will only damage the broader interests of the people.
The entire political spectrum in the State must desist from mudslinging and instead go for introspection.
“We believe that any cover-ups in whatever forms, finding damage control measures or complacency over the matter or unwillingness to go for a thorough probe is bound to take us on the perilous road where the entire democratic process will lose its credibility,” the statement said.