In a sensational revelation, former Army chief Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh has admitted that the Army transfers money to politicians in Jammu and Kashmir as part of “stabilising work” in the state. He added that money is transferred to some government ministers in J&K to do certain work in the national interests.
The former Army chief said the money is for certain purposes including the welfare of the youth and children in the state.
Speaking to a TV channel late on Monday evening, Gen. Singh said this is a practice that has been going on “since independence”. He also said there are systems in place to ensure that the money was accounted for, with proper receipts given. In response to a question, Gen. Singh implied that both the Union defence minister and the J&K chief minister must be aware of the practice and added, “This has not been invented by Gen. V.K. Singh”.
Gen. Singh made the explosive revelation after he was asked about an Army report that purportedly mentioned that money to the tune of more than ` one crore was paid to a minister in J&K by the Technical Support Division (TSD) — a controversial military intelligence unit — that was created during the tenure of Gen. Singh but which has now been disbanded. Gen. Singh also denied that any attempts were made to topple the J&K government by the TSD as is purported to have been mentioned in the report.