GOVERNMENT DOES U-TURN, SAYS WILL MAKE EFFORTS TO BRING KOHINOOR BACK

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday evening made a U-turn on the Kohinoor diamond issue, saying it will make all possible efforts to bring back the diamond in an amicable manner.

In a statement, the government said it had not yet conveyed its views to the court, contrary to what is being “misrepresented”.

“With regard to the Kohinoor diamond too, government of India remains hopeful for an amicable outcome whereby India gets back a valued piece of art with strong roots in our nation’s history,” a government release said.

The clarification comes in the wake of criticism faced by the Centre over its previous stand on the issue that the 105-carat Kohinoor was “gifted as compensation” to the British — a statement dubbed by the party’s ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), as “distortion of history”.

Questioning the statement, SAD MP Pr em Singh Chan du ma jr a had said, “How could a 10-year-old king be in a position to gift a diamond, and why would he do so after the way the British treated his mother and betrayed him?”

The RSS also disapproved of Kumar’s statement, with a senior leader saying the diamond was “India’s property” and should be returned.

Earlier, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said, “BJP (when in opposition) used to allege that Congress was not bringing back the Kohinoor. But now it is giving in writing in the Supreme Court that it was gifted and not taken away.”

However, Keith Vaz, Britain’s longest serving MP of Asian origin in the House of Commons, supported the government saying people should “respect” its decision.

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) staked claim to the diamond, saying Sikhs are its “legitimate owners”. In a statement, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said, “This stand (of the government) seems to support the deceitful ways and means of the British.”

GOVT SAID IT HAD NOT YET CONVEYED ITS VIEWS TO THE COURT, CONTRARY TO WHAT IS BEING MISREPRESENTED