india

Updated: Jul 14, 2020 23:10 IST

Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioning what he called the party’s move to discuss internal issues with foreign leaders. The attack comes a day after the UK representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) discussed the Kashmir situation with Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“Kamal Dhaliwal - Overseas Congress Chief, close to Rahul Gandhi, met Jeremy Corbyn and said situation not normal in Kashmir. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, what does your party want to do by discussing matters of country with foreign leaders?” Shah said at an election rally in poll-bound Maharashtra’s Muldhana.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also on attacked the Congress for what it called “shameful shenanigans”. The party also sought an explanation from the Congress on the meeting during which both sides discussed the human rights situation in the valley after the August 5 revocation of Article 370 that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

After the meeting, Corbyn had tweeted “A very productive meeting with UK representatives from the Indian Congress Party where we discussed the human rights situation in Kashmir. There must be a de-escalation and an end to the cycle of violence and fear which has plagued the region for so long.”

This provoked a sharp response from the BJP. “Appalling! @INCIndia owes it to the people of India to explain what its leaders are telling foreign leaders about India. India will give a befitting reply to Congress for these shameful shenanigans!” the party tweeted. The Congress hit back, accusing the BJP of making “malicious statements” to distract the people from its failures.

The IOC claimed it had met Corbyn to condemn the Kashmir resolution passed by his party pm September 26 at its annual party conference in Brighton, and reiterate that J&K is an internal matter. “Our meeting with Jeremy Corbyn was held to condemn the Kashmir resolution passed by his party and to reiterate that J&K is an internal matter and outside intervention will not be accepted. BJP’s malicious statements are another attempt to distract people from their failures,” the IOC tweeted.

Corbyn on his part also downplayed the Labour Party’s resolution on Jammu and Kashmir following anger in the Indian community in the UK. In a letter to the Labour Friends of India – a lobby group within the Labour party – he admitted that “some of the language” used in the resolution was open to misinterpretation, insisting that he understood the concerns in the 1.5 million-strong Indian community here.

“The emergency motion on Kashmir came through as part of the democratic process of the Labour party conference… “However, there is a recognition that some of the language used within it could be misinterpreted as hostile to India and the Indian Diaspora. Labour understands the concerns the Indian community in Britain has about the situation in Kashmir and takes these concerns very seriously”, he said.