Top J&K leaders face jail for corruption: Malik

Several top elected politicians in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, including a Chief Minister, could land in prison on account of corruption, which enabled them to buy homes and stakes in hotels across the world, Goa Governor Satya Pal Malik said here on Tuesday.

Malik, a former J&K Governor, while speaking at the 70th Constitution Day event at the Goa University grounds, said during his stint he had helped unearth an alleged bank job scam, in which the sitting Chief Minister and other MLAs were directly implicated.

"The people there who were democratically elected, two generations earlier their grandfathers were school teachers. Today they have houses in Srinagar, Delhi, Dubai, London, France and there is no count of partnerships in numerous hotels. I also witnessed abuse of democracy. But it's cure is also in democracy. They are being probed, some of them will go to prison. I have done it with the stroke of a pen," Malik said.

Malik, J&K Governor from August 2018 to October 2019, said when he was given his brief he had gone to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for instructions. "When I went to ask the Prime Minister about my mandate he said nothing else apart from outreach, meeting the people, do development and fight corruption," Malik said.

The Governor said he first cracked down on two deals that which would have earned some ruling politicians Rs 150 crore each and added, he had stumbled upon the bank job scam by accident when some young candidates landed up at the Raj Bhavan gates to meet him.

Nearly 20 candidates claimed they had topped the merit list, but were edged out due to political pressure, he said.

On enquiry with the J&K Bank Chairman, Malik learnt that around 580 candidates who had passed the examinations had been sidelined due to political interference.

"There are 580 candidates who had cleared examinations and interviews. But the Chief Minister told MLAs to recommend their people. I said the 580 will have to be appointed, no other appointment will be done," Malik said.

The Goa Governor also said those who misused power, even the Chief Ministers, could land in prison and cited the examples of former Bihar and Harayana Chief Ministers Laloo Prasad and Om Prakash Chautala, respectively.IANS