Satyapal Malik was J&K Governor during Pulwama attack and revocation of special status
- Satyapal Malik, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has died aged 79
- He was undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments in Delhi hospital
- Malik was a Jat leader from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh
Satyapal Malik, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and several other states and a veteran politician, has died. He was 79. Mr Malik had been suffering from kidney-related ailments and was under treatment at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
A Jat leader from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, Mr Malik started his political journey as a student leader and was elected MLA of Chaudhary Charan Singh's Bharatiya Kranti Dal in 1974. He served as a Rajya Sabha MP and later as Janata Dal's Lok Sabha MP from Aligarh. In the coming years, he switched to the Congress, then to the Lok Dal and then to Samajwadi Party.
Mr Malik was appointed the Governor of Bihar in 2017 and later given additional charge of Odisha. In August 2018, he was named the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, then a state. Mr Malik was the Governor when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status in 2019 and bifurcated it into two Union Territories. He was also the Governor when the Pulwama terror attack claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. Following his Jammu and Kashmir stint, Mr Malik served as Governor of Goa and Meghalaya.
Over the past couple of years, the veteran politician has been in the news for his big allegations against the Narendra Modi government. The relationship between Mr Malik and the BJP government started souring around 2020-21 when the Jat leader backed the farmers protesting against the now-scrapped farm laws. But his strongest words came during an interview in 2023, when he flagged the lapses that led to the Pulwama attack and alleged that the Centre had asked him to stay silent. He also claimed that CRPF's request for aircraft had been turned down and the troops were targeted when they were travelling by road. The BJP responded by sharing clips of Mr Malik praising the government, and questioned his credibility.
Mr Malik's criticism of the Centre had brought him closer to the Opposition camp. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interviewed him in 2023, where he reiterated his allegations. Mr Gandhi, now Leader of the Opposition, met Mr Malik at the hospital in May.
