‘Diplomatic blunder’: Cong on EU MPS visiting Kashmir
"Modi Govt has committed a grave sacrilege by introducing a third party to assess the ground situation in Kashmir and also through an unknown think tank," Surjewala said
NEW DELHI: Terming the European Union (EU) parliamentarians visit to Kashmir the “biggest diplomatic blunder” in Independent India's history, Congress slammed the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deliberately internationalizing the issue.
Demanding answers from the Prime Minister, the Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the BJP government continues to humiliate India on a global scale by allowing internationalization of the Kashmir issue in violation of the time-tested policy that it is India's internal matter.
“The truth is that this is the biggest diplomatic blunder in
India's history. The Modi government has deliberately internationalised the Kashmir issue, violating our time-tested policy of Kashmir being an internal matter' of India,” he told reporters.
A delegation of 23 EU MPS on Wednesday ended a twoday visit aimed at a first-hand assessment of the ground situation in Kashmir after the revocation of the state's special status.
“The Modi government has committed 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,” the Congress leader said.
“We call upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and answer these issues of challenging India's sovereignty, national security and insult of India's Parliament,” Surjewala said.
Over the last three days, he said, India has witnessed “an immature, ill-advised and illconceived PR exercise" of the BJP government. He claimed the members of European Parliament were brought to India by a "nondescript" think tank with questionable credentials to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visit Kashmir and hold a press briefing.
Surjewala said that India's time tested policy over the last 72 years is that Kashmir is an internal issue.
“...we will accept no interference or third party mediation
of any nature from any government or group of people or organisation or any individual. The Modi government has committed the gravest sin of reversing this policy over last three days,” he said, adding that India's MPS and opposition leaders had been detained and deported from the Srinagar airport when they tried to visit
Kashmir.
“On the other hand, the BJP government is rolling out the red carpet for a private visit by EU MPS facilitated by an unknown 'International business broker',” he said, adding that the Modi government has made a “spectacle” of India's diplomacy by outsourcing diplomacy.