Under fire, Mali quits as adviser

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 27

Training guns on Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu’s adviser Malwinder Singh Mali today resigned from the post of advisor to the PCC chief. The resignation comes after Punjab affairs in charge Harish Rawat asked Sidhu to remove his advisers.

Stating that he could not continue in the given circumstances, Mali in a Facebook posted alleged a hateful campaign had been launched against him by political leaders of the Congress, including the CM, besides the SAD, BJP and AAP. He said they would be responsible if any harm was done to him.

In the statement, Mali said: “Anti-Sikh forces that can’t tolerate the emerging Punjab model, issue-based and solution-based politics of transparency and accountability, which has dawned in the backdrop of the long-drawn peaceful ‘kisan andolan’, have a nefarious design to derail the dialogue process that has started taking shape… (There is a plot to) push me into the struggle with tied hands, which is not acceptable to me. I humbly withdraw my consent given for tendering suggestions to Navjot Singh Sidhu.”

Mali had courted a controversy with his remarks against revocation of the special status and autonomy granted under Article 370 of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris. Going against the tenets of the UNO resolutions, India and Pakistan have illegally usurped the Kashmir territory. If Kashmir was a part of India then what was the need to have Articles 370 and 35-A. What was the special agreement with King Hari Singh? Tell people what were the terms of the agreement,” Mali had said in his recent posts.

Bq

Targets CM

“A hateful campaign has been launched against me by leaders of the Congress, including CM, besides SAD, BJP and AAP. They will be responsible for any harm done to me”

— Malwinder Singh Mali