The former Indian army chief General (Retd) V K Singh has dropped another bombshell by saying that ministers in Indian Kashmir government are being paid by army for “stability and harmony of the State”.

New Delhi, Sept 24/Nationalturk – The under fire former Indian army chief General (Retd) V K Singh has said that ministers in Indian Kashmir are being paid by army for “stability and harmony of the State”.

“Army transfers money to ministers in Indian Kashmir because various things are to be done and ministers have to do so many things as part of the stabilising factor and for organising various activities,” Singh told Indian TV news channel, Times Now.

Asked whether all ministers are paid, he said, “May be not all the ministers but certain ministers and people are given a certain sum to get a particular thing done. That job involves bringing stability to a particular area.”

Indian Kashmir is facing armed insurgency since 1989 against Indian rule. Over 50,000 people have lost their lives in two decades of violence. The human rights groups, however, say the figure is much higher.  The separatist leaders and human rights activists have been repeatedly claiming that Indian Kashmir government was being run by Indian government and Indian army with no role for Indian Kashmir government.

‘Indian Kashmir is different issue’

General Singh, whose tenure as the Army Chief was shrouded in a controversy over his date of birth, said Indian Kashmir is a different issue altogether. “A lot of things are done where you do a lot of civic and youth work. For all this, money is needed. A certain amount of money is given for these works. Where is the problem?”

Earlier, last week an Indian newspaper Indian Express while quoting an army probe report had stated that former Indian army chief had attempted to topple Kashmir government. “The intelligence unit – Technical Support Division (TSD) -set up during his tenure had paid Rs 1.19 crore (Indian currency) to Ghulam Hassan Mir (Agriculture minister in Indian Kashmir) to engineer change in the government,” the report had said.

‘’Ministers in Indian Kashmir are being paid by army since 1947 ’

When asked whether the ministers siphon it of the money, Singh said, “I do not think so. We have a system to ensure its accountability. There are proper receipts and ensured that the work given is done.”

“This (paying money to ministers by army) has been going on in Indian Kashmir since 1947, when India achieved Independence. This is a system to ensure that all the governments are helped. To ensure things are done. This is nothing new and was not invented by me. Funding ministers is to get people together in Indian Kashmir,” the former Indian army chief said.

Singh said those who are accusing him of toppling the Indian Kashmir government have an agenda. “The governments fall because of misgovernance and not because someone tries to topple it.”

‘Singh should name ministers paid by Army

Indian Home Minister Sushil kumar Shinde has asked former Indian army chief General (Retd) V K Singh to name the ministers of Indian Kashmir, who have received money from army.

“If details are provided, the matter can be probed,” he said.

There have been calls to identify the ministers, who received army money.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News

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