Srinagar /July, 22: After the backlash over his remark “kill who looted wealth of Kashmir” ,Governor Satya Pal Malik Malik Monday morning clarified that he had spoken “in a fit of anger and frustration” due to rampant corruption.
“As Governor, I should have not made such a comment, but my personal feeling is the same as I said. Many political leaders and big bureaucrats are steeped in corruption here,” he was quoted as saying in a media report.
There was no mistaking the target of his provocative comments last Sunday ..
More so, because he had made the remarks right after he accused “big families” of Kashmir of accruing properties across the world by looting public money.
The governor has often accused political leaders of Kashmir of corruption and having no mass support because of the poor turnout in elections.
“The big families who have ruled Kashmir have got unlimited wealth. They have one house in Srinagar, one in Delhi, Dubai, one in London and elsewhere. They are shareholders in big hotels. It is the common man of Kashmir who is suffering,” he said.
Reacting strongly to the Governor’s comments, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted: “Save this tweet – after today any mainstream politician or serving/retired bureaucrat killed in J&K has been murdered on the express orders of the Governor of J&K Satyapal Malik.”
“This man, ostensibly a responsible man occupying a constitutional position, tells militants to kill politicians perceived to be corrupt. Perhaps the man should find out about his own reputation in Delhi these days before sanctioning unlawful killings and kangaroo courts,” Mr Abdullah wrote.
