Opposition walks out of Lok Sabha, says only PM Modi can tell if Trump’s lying on Kashmir mediation claim

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Updated: Jul 23, 2019 14:49 IST

Opposition leaders on Tuesday staged a walk out in the Lok Sabha after they failed to get the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond to the statement of US President Donald Trump claiming that the Indian Prime Minister Modi had asked him to mediate in the Kashmir issue, reported news agency ANI. Earlier, Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice till 3 pm following an uproar by the Parliamentarians demanding a response from the Prime Minister on the issue.

According to ANI, Congress MP Manish Tiwari said the Prime Minister must address the Lower House and clarify if the US President was lying when he attributed the conversation to him. He also said that Trump’s statement on Kashmir issue was like a “blow to the unity of India.”

The Ministry of External Affairs earlier on Tuesday had rejected Trump’s remarks, made during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, that Modi had asked him to mediate in resolving the Kashmir issue with Pakistan.

The Congress said it was happy to hear government’s reiteration of India’s ‘no third party involvement’ in Kashmir stand but was unhappy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue. It insisted that the Prime Minister made a statement instead of the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

“Why is PM ‘mum’ on what transpired between the two heads of states, more so when it affects our sovereignty?” , Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked in a tweet.

In another tweet, he tagged the remarks of Trump put out by the White House.

“Now, ‘Whitehouse’ puts up @POTUS assertion in ‘black & white’ that PM Modi asked him to ‘mediate on Kashmir’!” He said. “When will our PM ‘wake up’ & call the bluff if President Trump is lying? Or Did PM Modi ask @POTUS to mediate?” Surjewala wondered.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also, demanded a clarification from none other than Prime Minister Modi .

“President Trump says PM Modi asked him to mediate between India & Pakistan on Kashmir! If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement. A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & @POTUS,” Rahul’s tweet said.

Earlier, Congress leader Milind Deora said that for the sake of India’s national interest, all parties must rise above politics and welcome MEA’s statement refuting the Prime Minister’s alleged remarks.

“We must also ask whether BJP would have extended the same courtesy to Dr. Manmohan Singh had a US President made such a claim,” he said.

The Congress along with other opposition parties on Monday night demanded a clarification from Modi on whether there has been a shift in India’s position of no third party involvement in the Kashmir issue after Trump offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the matter.

Also read | Reversing Trump’s offer to ‘mediate’, US says it’s ready to ‘assist’ as before

Surjewala had said India has never accepted third party mediation in Jammu and Kashmir.

“To ask a foreign power to mediate in J&K by PM Modi is a sacrilegious betrayal of country’s interests. Let PM answer to the Nation!” he had tweeted.

In another tweet, Surjewala said “deeply disturbing and distressing” is the claim by Trump that PM Modi made a “request to him for mediation on Kashmir”.

“No Indian PM has ever dared to breach the cardinal principle of ‘no third party mediation’ in terms of 1972 Simla Agreement. Why is PM mum?” he said.

Trump, who is known to make inaccurate statements, claimed Prime Minister Modi asked him to mediate on the Kashmir issue.

“I honestly don’t think Trump has the slightest idea of what he’s talking about. He has either not been briefed or not understood what (Prime Minister) Modi was saying or what India’s position is on 3rd-party mediation. That said, MEA should clarify that Delhi has never sought his intercession,” senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted earlier.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday wondered whether the Indian government will call the US President a liar or whether there has been a shift in India’s position on third party involvement in dispute.

Also read | ‘No such request made by PM Modi’, says foreign minister S Jaishankar on Trump’s Kashmir mediation claim

“Personally I think @realDonaldTrump is talking out of his hat when he says @PMOIndia asked for US involvement in solving the Kashmir issue but I’d like to see @MEAIndia call Trump out on his claim,” Abdullah tweeted. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury asked whether “our twitter-friendly PM” has the courage to rebut the US president who has made a public statement.

“What does this say about our long-held position of sovereignty over the Indian state of J&K, as defined in the Simla Agreement?” he said.

“India has always maintained its a bilateral issue, with no scope for third-party interference. What is this government up to?” Yechury asked.

India maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral one and no third party has any role.