NEW DELHI : National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today demanded a CBI probe into the claim of former Army chief V K Singh that “certain ministers” in Jammu and Kashmir are given money by the Army for “stability” and that this has been going on since Independence.
“I think it’s a very, very terrible statement that he has made. It must be investigated. The Army has nothing to do with funding of political parties. They should never do this. The Army should be kept apolitical,” the Union Minister said here, adding, “And if he has done that, he has done something extremely wrong.”
Under attack over reports that attempts were made to topple the Jammu and Kashmir government during his tenure as Army chief, Gen (retd) Singh has claimed that accusations against him were false and motivated.
Expressing concern, Abdullah said, “I think time has come when a CBI inquiry should be held immediately to see what is the funding that the Army has done and who are the people that received these funds and how these funds have been utilised.”
Singh has said, the “Army transfers money to all the ministers in Jammu and Kashmir…. Because there are various things to be done and ministers have to do so many things as part of the stabilising factor in the state and for organising various activities.”
Questioned whether all ministers are paid, he amended his statement, saying, “May be not all the ministers but certain ministers and people who are given a certain sum to get a particular thing done. That job involves bringing stability to a particular area.”
Abdullah said, “I feel extremely sad that the Army has utilised money for political purposes which is extremely bad for the nation.”
When asked about claims made by former Army chief that his son and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was aware of the fact as to who were the Ministers being funded, the Union Minister said, “I do not know what my son is aware of. I think that you should ask him. I am his father but I am not the man who knows anything about that.”
On his demand for an investigation into the alleged funding by the army, Abdullah said, “Funding should be investigated. CBI should look into it as to why and how was that fund being spent.
“Who permitted those funds being spent on political parties needs to be probed. We cannot question them in Parliament. Army funds are not questionable,” he said.
The Union Minister also chose the occasion to raise an issue of auditing of secret funds. “…The time has come when funding has to be questioned…As to what is being done and how are they (the Army) utilising these funds,” he said. (PTI)
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