Upping the ante against the BJP-led central government, the Congress Wednesday said the government committed “gravest sin” by inviting a delegation of Members of European Parliament to Srinagar, thus violating India’s time tested policy of Kashmir being an internal matter.
“India’s time tested policy over last 72 years is that Kashmir is our internal issue and we 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,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
“Modi Government has deliberately internationalised Kashmir issue violating our time tested policy of Kashmir being an internal matter of India,” he added.
Questioning the third party intervention in Kashmir, Surjewala said, “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, Government has caused an affront to India’s sovereign right over Jammu & Kashmir. We call upon Prime Minister Modi to come forward and answer these issues of challenging India’s sovereignty, national security and insult of India’s parliament.”
The Congress said the visit by EU MPs was facilitated by an unknown “international business broker” and sought answers from the government.
“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 called the visit an immature, ill-advised and ill-conceived PR exercise of BJP Government.
The Congress’ reaction comes after the MEPs delegation said that scrapping Article 370 was India’s internal matter and supported India in its fight against terrorism Indian Express Reported.
