SRINAGAR: Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has asked former Army chief, VK Singh to name the Jammu and Kashmir politicians who he said were allegedly paid money by the Army for various ‘jobs’.
Mr Shinde has said that should Gen Singh give out the names, there will be a probe into the matter.
The retired General has been under fire over reports that he plotted to overthrow the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and paid one of his ministers, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Rs 1.19 Crore for it.
General Singh has denied that he planned to destabilise the government here, but he said that the Army paying the state’s ministers was nothing new and there were many others, apart Mr Mir, who received funds.
This has been going on since India’s Independence, he told Delhi-based news channels during interviews.
“…Because there are various things to be done and ministers have to do so many things as part of the stabilizing factor in the state and for organizing various activities,” he told Times Now.
“Kashmir is a different issue altogether. A lot of things are done where you do a lot of civic and youth work. For all this, money is needed. A certain amount of money is given for these works. Where is the problem?”
General Singh’s comments are shocking for the authorities in Kashmir where recent elections – assembly polls in 2008 and panchayat polls in 2011 – were touted as a victory for democracy.
Apart from Mr Shinde, the state’s ruling National Conference party has also asked the General to name the ministers he was referring to.
