New Delhi: Opposition parties Wednesday stepped up their attack against the government over European Union’s MPs’ Kashmir trip with the Congress describing it as the ‘biggest diplomatic blunder’ and others asking the Centre how these foreign lawmakers were allowed to visit the Valley while Indian leaders were denied permission.
It was not just opposition parties that trained their guns on the government over the visit of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to Kashmir, but BJP’s ally Shiv Sena also took strong objection to it, asserting that it is ‘not an international issue’.
In the first visit by a foreign delegation, a team of 23 MEPs travelled to Kashmir Tuesday on a two-day visit to have a first-hand assessment of the situation after the state’s special status was revoked in August by abrogating Article 370.
While the Congress asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and answer the issues of ‘challenging India’s sovereignty, national security and insult of India’s Parliament’ by allowing such a visit, CPI questioned why Indian leaders were not allowed to visit the Valley.
CPI general secretary D Raja said he tried to visit Kashmir twice, but was detained and sent back. Raja also asked the government to explain the purpose of the visit, and reveal the affiliation of the members of the delegation.
Even one of the EU MP, Nicolaus Fest, who is part of the delegation, said the government should allow opposition leaders to visit the Valley.
Two BJP allies – the Shiv Sena and the JD (U) – also criticised the government over the visit.
“Isn’t the EU delegation’s visit an ‘external invasion’ of India’s independence and sovereignty?” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ wondered, while questioning the rationale behind allowing the foreign team to visit Jammu and Kashmir.
Raising questions over the government’s decision, Janata Dal (U) asked is the move not contrary to India’s policy against internationalising the issue, and also wondered if it was an appropriate time as even Indian MPs were not allowed to visit the Valley.
“There are several contradictions in the visit. On the one hand India is against internationalising the issue, but on the other hand we have allowed a visit by these parliamentarians in their personal capacity. Is it an appropriate time? What is the criteria for selecting these members,” JD(U) spokesperson Pavan Varma, a former diplomat, asked.
Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed that the BJP government continues to humiliate India on a global scale by allowing internationalisation 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,” Surjewala told reporters.
“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,” added Surjewala.
Agencies