The Congress on Wednesday slammed the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre over the visit of a delegation of European Union parliamentarians to Jammu and Kashmir calling it a “diplomatic blunder”
Coming down heavily on the government for allowing a delegation of European Union (EU) parliamentarians to visit Kashmir, the opposition party also asked the Prime Minister to come clean on Madi Sharma who facilitated his meeting with the delegation and its tour of the valley.
“Over last three days, India witnessed an immature, ill-advised and ill-conceived PR exercise of BJP government organised by an ‘International Business Broker’, in which 27 members of European Parliament were brought to India by a non-descript think tank with questionable credentials to meet with the Prime Minister, visit Kashmir and hold press briefing,” Congress party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told a news conference in Delhi.
However, only 23 went to Kashmir on a BJP government facilitated trip as four members of the delegation returned from Delhi itself, he added.
Surjewala asserted that India’s time-tested policy over last 72 years is that Kashmir is its internal issue and that it will accept no interference or third party mediation of any nature from any government or group of people or organisation or any individual.
“Modi government has committed the gravest sin of reversing this policy over last three days. It has insulted India’s Parliament and our democratic spirit. When our own Members of Parliament and Leaders of Opposition visit Kashmir, they are detained and deported from the airport. On the other hand, BJP government is rolling out the red carpet for a private visit by EU MPs facilitated by an unknown international business broker,” he said.
The Congress leader said the obvious inference is that the Modi government has made a spectacle of India’s diplomacy by outsourcing diplomacy to an ‘International Business Broker’.
“Will the Prime Minister tell as to who is ‘Madi Sharma’? What is BJP’s connection to ‘Women’s Economic and Social Think Tank’ as also to ‘International Institute for Non-aligned Studies’? Why and in what capacity is Madi Sharma fixing an appointment with the Prime Minister for a delegation of EU MPs on a personal visit and why is Government of India facilitating it? Where is the money to finance the entire visit coming from? Why has MEA been completely sidelined?” he asked.
Surjewala claimed that the truth is that this is the biggest ‘diplomatic blunder’ in India’s history.
He said the Modi government has committed a “grave sacrilege” by introducing a third party to assess the ground situation in Kashmir and that also through an unknown think tank. “By doing so, the government has caused an affront to India’s sovereign right over Jammu and Kashmir. We call upon the Prime Minister to come forward and answer these issues of challenging India’s sovereignty, national security and insult of India’s Parliament,” Surjewala said.
Prasanta Patnaik