The Privilege Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council on Monday decided to summon the former Army Chief, General (retd.) V.K. Singh, to explain why breach of privilege proceedings should not be initiated against him for his purported statement that Ministers of the State had been receiving secret funds since 1947.
The ruling National Conference members, Devinder Singh Rana, Ajay Sadhotra and Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy had filed a complaint against Gen. Singh before Chairman Amrit Malhotra in September this year, days after a satellite news channel broadcast the former Army Chief’s interview. Mr. Malhotra had taken cognisance and referred the petition to the Privilege Committee for its opinion. The committee held a detailed meeting on the issue here on Monday. Other privilege motions were also discussed.
Over similar complaints, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Mubarak Gul, had also sought Gen. Singh’s explanation without insisting on his personal appearance in October. Gen. Singh is understood to have responded to the Speaker’s communication though nothing in his explanation has been made public. Many MLAs of the ruling NC and the Opposition PDP raked up the issue in the autumn session of the Legislature
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