Row over nod to EU group’s J&K visit Visit cancelled as I put riders: British MEP
European MPS allowed are to visit and interfere in Kashmir, but when Indian MPS go there they are sent back... PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA, Congress general secretary
NEWDELHI: The Congress on Tuesday claimed that the Narendra Modi government had taken a group of European Union lawmakers on a “conducted tour” of Kashmir, but denied permission to Indian parliamentarians to visit the Valley in the aftermath of its August 5 decision to strip J&K of its special status. It also termed this move a “national embarrassment” .
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the nationalism of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is strange, allowing European MPS to visit and interfere in Kashmir while Indian MPS are sent back from the airport. “European MPS allowed are to visit and interfere in Kashmir, but when Indian MPS and leaders go there they are sent back from the airport. This kind of nationalism is very strange,” Priyanka tweeted in Hindi.
Her party colleague, Anand Sharma, said the government has embarked on an “ill-advised PR exercise, sponsoring individuals with questionable” credentials.
“EU MPS representing parties and ideologies in direct conflict with the mainstream. Diplomatic disaster which ended up internationalising what is essentially our internal issue. National embarrassment. Those responsible should be held accountable,” Sharma said in a series of tweets.
A 23-member delegation of EU parliamentarians reached Kashmir on Tuesday for a first-hand assessment of the situation after the state’s special status was revoked on August 5.
Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said he did not
CHRIS DAVIES SAYS HE SOUGHT PERMISSION TO MOVE FREELY, UNACCOMPANIED BY SECURITY FORCES
have any objection to EU parliamentarians visiting Kashmir but was opposed to the government not allowing Indian MPS to visit the state. “This is an insult to Indian Parliament by allowing the members of EU to visit Jammu and Kashmir. This is also an insult to the people, of whom they are representatives.”
Azad said a delegation of opposition leaders tried to go to Srinagar, but had to return after waiting for four hours at the airport.
Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said: “Who has stopped Congress leaders from going to the state when the situation has normalised?...”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress have distanced themselves from their leaders, Muzuffar Hussain Beigh and Usman Majeed respectively, who met the EU delegation in New Delhi at a lunch organised by national security advisor Ajit Doval. “I told the delegation that modus operandi to resolve the Kashmir issue lies in Simla Agreement which was signed by two countries,” Beigh said, adding he didn’t discuss the current situation in the Valley. J&K Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir said: “He (Majeed) met them in his personnel capacity. This is in violation of the party guidelines.”
LONDON:CHRIS Davies, a member of the European parliament (MEP) from the UK, had his invitation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visit Jammu and Kashmir allegedly withdrawn after he insisted on moving freely during the trip, speaking to anyone he wanted and not being accompanied by security.
Davies, MEP from north-west England, said on Tuesday that he received the invitation on October 7, responded to it the next day, but was told on October 10 that it had been withdrawn without any reason being mentioned.
Davies said: “I was happy to accept [the invitation] on the condition that during my time in Kashmir I would be free to go wherever I wish, and talk to whoever I wish, unaccompanied by military, police or security forces butaccompaniedbyjournalists.”
“I am not prepared to take part in a PR stunt for the [Narendra] Modi government and pretend that all is well. It is very clear that democratic principles are being subverted in Kashmir, and the world needs to start taking notice.” Davies said he was invited by an organisation called WESTT (Women’s Economic and Social Think Tank) to meet Prime Minister Modi on October 28, visit Jammu and Kashmir on October 29, and address a press conference on October 30.
A chain of e-mail communications accessed by HT showed that
Madi Sharma, an entrepreneur and chief of WESTT, approached Davies on October 7 to join a delegation for a three-day visit to the Valley. The email mentioned that Davies’ participation would be as a guest and not in his official capacity as MEP. Davies replied, insisting on a written guarantee that he would be allowed to move freely, unaccompanied by security forces. Sharma said some security would be necessary but that she was sure it “will not hinder your (Davies’) work”.
She also asked for a meeting, which was fixed for October 10 by the MEP’S office. But on October 10 in an email addressed to Davies and Irina Von Wiese, another MEP from the Liberal Democrats party, Sharma cancelled the meeting. “I apologise that I cannot take any more MEPS at this stage,” she said, adding that she would arrange a meeting in the future after her return from India. Sharma was unavailable for comment over phone.
Davies said he represented many people in his north-west England constituency who have family links in Jammu and Kashmir, who wanted to speak freely to relatives and wanted their voices heard.