Srinagar:
Former Army Chief VK Singh will be summoned by the Jammu and Kashmir assembly to explain his controversial comment that the army pays ministers in the state to maintain peace.
The assembly today passed a privilege motion against the general for his comments, made in a TV interview last month. Members of the ruling National Conference and the opposition PDP both demanded that the general be summoned.
"I will give former Army chief VK Singh an opportunity to explain his position," Speaker Mubarak Gul said before incessant protests forced the session to adjourn.
On Monday, the assembly had passed a unanimous resolution asking for a thorough probe into the general's explosive claims.
"Former Army Chief VK Singh's allegations cannot be ignored," Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said in the house.
He added that he had also written to the Prime Minister, asking for a probe into a secret spy unit set up by General Singh, which, according to an army report, had paid a minister to try and destabilize the state government.
It was while defending the intelligence unit that the general had said in the TV interview, that "paying ministers was nothing new in Jammu and Kashmir and was a means to get people together in Kashmir." The comments triggered a massive political uproar.
Omar Abdullah said the accusations had dealt a blow to the credibility of the people in his government and political parties.