Former governor Satyapal Malik has claimed that “they” would not allow a normal parliamentary election in 2024, pointing to how the 2019 polls had been “hijacked after the Pulwama tragedy and the subsequent Balakot surgical strike”.

Malik told The Telegraph in an interview: “Ye kuchh bhi kar sakte hain (They can do anything). Something big will happen before the 2024 election.... Anything can happen. They can do anything for power.” Malik expressed the fear whether prominent places and personalities would be targeted.

Asked how he can make such serious allegations, Malik said: “I am saying this on the basis of my experience and what so many people tell me.”

To another question that critics can counter him by pointing out that he was speaking out of frustration after falling out with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Malik said: “Maybe they will say so. But what about Modi’s track record, his politics, the history of his rise? People have seen what he has done in the past.”

Contesting the question that he was speaking out of pique, the former governor and BJP leader said: “People have seen what happened in 2002 in Gujarat. The election was hijacked in 2019 after the Pulwama tragedy and the subsequent Balakot surgical strike.”

Malik added: “The country has seen how ‘sensitive’ the Prime Minister is…. 700 farmers died while protesting against the farm laws and he didn’t send any condolences. We have seen he refused to speak on Manipur.”

To another question whether the powerful Indian State was not capable of taking corrective steps, Malik said: “The State is finished.... There is nobody in the BJP who has the courage to speak the truth. What could anybody do when Manipur burnt for 90 days? Most of the killings were done by Insas rifles, which are not available in the market.”

Malik, who was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir when the Pulwama attack took place in 2019, had said a few months ago that Modi had asked him to keep quiet when he pointed out that the tragedy happened because of “our failures”. Malik had claimed that national security adviser Ajit Doval had also told him not to speak on the subject.

As many as 40 CRPF soldiers had been killed in the attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama.

Malik is not the only person predicting a major incident that can change the political discourse in the country. Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan had said at a conference at the Constitution Club in Delhi a few days ago: “They are preparing for Pulwama-II and Balakot-II. I am getting information from multiple sources, credible sources.... Terror outfits al Qaida and Jaish-e-Mohammed have given threats.”

Bhushan had added: “Security should be tightened... to foil such attacks. If the attacks still happen, what will people understand? That they wanted this attack to happen. Then there is a plan to get into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK); physical incursion, not only bombing. Ground troops will be sent into PoK. The 2019 election was hijacked by Pulwama-Balakot and they can go to any extent to win in 2024.”

He asked what happened to the Pulwama inquiry, which had been handed over to the National Investigation Agency. Bhushan asked who was held accountable for the lapses.

Congress leaders like Digvijaya Singh have asked for the progress report on the Pulwama inquiry. Modi had sought votes in the name of martyrs but the BJP doesn’t talk about the tragedy any longer.

Bhushan also hinted at more communal clashes, saying: “They want to turn the entire country into Manipur.”

He said the train shooting, the Nuh violence and Manipur “point to this plot”.

Bhushan suggested that people should talk about it to create awareness among voters. “All the citizens of India and the Opposition INDIA coalition should talk about it,” he said.