Vaidik stokes fresh controversy, says Kashmir can be independent

New Delhi

oi-Shubham

New Delhi, July 15: Ved Pratap Vaidik, the journalist who recently made the headlines by meeting Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Lahore, stoked a fresh controversy by saying that Kashmir could be made an independent country.

[Read: Baba Ramdev defends Vaidik]

Vaidik, an aide of Yoga guru Ramdev, said in an interview to Pakistan's Dawn News that if Kashmiris of both India and Pakistan were ready, then Kashmir could be made independent. He also pressed for more power to the region.

The journalist later defended himself [read here] by saying that he favoured more independence for Kashmir and not its secession. He said he is in favour of freedom for the people of Kashmir but not its secession. According to Vaidik, the people of Kashmir should get the same freedom as the people of Delhi.

Vaidik had also defended his meeting with Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that killed over 160 people, saying he was free to meet anybody as a journalist.

He also rubbished speculations in the media that his meeting had links with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaged in a verbal due after the latter called Vaidik an RSS man [read here]. He also asked whether Vaidik had sought permission of the Indian Embassy to interview the 26/11 mastermind.

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