’Army pays ministers’: ex-army chief’s comment sparks uproar

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Sept 24: Former army chief VK Singh has landed in another major controversy with his stunning comment that the army pays money to ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to maintain peace in the state.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today said General Singh should give names of ministers he says were funded by the army, while the Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference slammed the former army chief’s remarks.

 

"(General Singh) has made a terrible statement. It must be investigated - which ministers were paid by the army, for what work," said National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. "The army should be kept apolitical." He also called for a CBI probe into whether army funds were used to topple his son Omar Abdullah’s government.

On Monday, General Singh had said that paying ministers was nothing new in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was a means to "get people together in Kashmir". The army, he said, funded ministers for "certain tasks" to bring harmony and stability in the state.

He was reacting to allegations that a secret intelligence unit set up by him had funded a minister to topple the National Conference-led government.

The minister, Ghulam Hasan Mir, has denied the allegation but the ex-army chief called him a "true nationalist" who was paid by the army to carry out tasks in the state’s interest.

The BJP has accused the Centre of targeting the former army chief for sharing the stage with Narendra Modi at a public rally on September 15. The event led to speculation that General Singh is on the verge of joining the BJP.