V K Singh must reveal who got money for Panchayat polls: AJKPC

AJKPC today said former Army Chief General V K Singh's remarks that the 2011 Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir was an achievement of the army's intelligence unit, had tarnished the image of elected panchayat representatives in the state.
"The remarks of V K Singh has not only put our lives in danger, but tarnished the image of panchayat leaders and turned their role suspicious in the society," All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) chairman Shafiq Mir said in a statement here today.
Mir, head of the apex body of panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir, also asked Gen(retd) Singh to reveal the names of persons who were given money for the Panchayat elections.

"We demand that the matter be investigated by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or High Court so that truth comes out," he said.
Describing Singh's statement as dangerous and an attempt to malign the image of panchayat members, the AJKPC chairman said panchayat leaders in the state were already being targeted by militants.
"We had contested these elections only to serve the people at grass root level. No political party was involved in the elections and no one was paid," Mir said.