NEW DELHI: Prominent speakers at an organized gathering in India said that the Pulwama attack was not from Pakistan.
Interestingly, going by the audience’s response to the speeches, it was clear that interest in India in what happened at Pulwama or Balakot has not waned.
While in the past, the allegations that the Indian establishment did the Pulwama attack were discussed in whispers, now all prominent speakers openly voiced their apprehension that the attack was not from Pakistan.
The gathering was addressed by Members of Parliament, Kumar Ketkar, Digvijay Singh, Danish Ali, John Brittas, and lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
“After Pulwama, Modi milked the tragedy and told crowds to remember Pulwama when they vote. I tell the crowds once again, remember Pulwama when you vote this time,” said former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik. “There are several unanswered questions. Where did the RDX come from? Why was the route not sanitised or manned by anyone for 10 kilometres either side? Why was the aircraft refused?” he asked.
Contradicting Prashant Bhushan who claimed there were 11 intelligence reports ahead of the attack, Malik said, “As governor, I used to get three intelligence reports a day, each detailing a terror attack that could happen to me or to the establishment. I was warned by the Army not to travel by road but take a chopper and so on. There was not a single intelligence report that an Army convoy could be attacked,” he said.
Malik said something similar could be planned in 2024. “They could kill a prominent BJP leader or throw a bomb at the Ram Mandir. Why is Ajit Doval (National Security Advisor) frequenting the UAE now a days? He is drumming up support from the rulers there that they should put pressure on the Pakistanis not to retaliate when our troops enter Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. They will stay there for a few days and come back and hope to win the election. People should know what they are up to,” he said.
Coming to Manipur, Malik said the violence that began in Haryana’s Nuh and spread to different parts of the state was not spontaneous.
He said the attacks in seven to eight different places were well-coordinated with the aim of creating a communal divide.
“The whole country will burn like Manipur if these people are not contained,” he said. “Jats by culture or tradition believe in the Arya Samaj way of life and are not very religious in the traditional sense of the term. Neither are the Muslims of this area very traditional in their outlook. Therefore, since Independence, one has never heard of the two communities clashing in this manner. And these attacks will only increase in the run-up to 2024, as is evident in Manipur,” he said while addressing a packed hall at the Constitution Club. The event marked a convention on “national security affairs” which was organised by six groups of social activists. The convention also passed two resolutions on the Balakot and Pulwama attacks.
The participants of the event demanded the government to make the Pulwama attack report public. The also sought an action-taken report, including a white paper on the lapses be made public and action taken against those involved. They also demanded that a Supreme Court-monitored committee should probe the Pulwama incident.
Those gathered also demanded an increase in security at various pilgrim sites, fearing that ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, an attack could be carried out on the under-construction Ram Mandir at Ayodhya or any of the other prominent temples in India.
“This could be done by the ruling dispensation to polarise the public and win the elections,” Malik said. An alleged threat by Al-Qaeda that the Ram Mandir would be blown up should be taken seriously, they said.
