Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram writes:
Some sections of the media, including your newspaper, have reported the uproar in Parliament on Friday on the alleged contents of a WikiLeaks cable. I think you should have also reported my comment made to the media. I said: “I will not comment on the WikiLeaks cables. Do not dignify them. But if you want a comment, I will say I denounce the cables.”
PTI reports from New Delhi:
Mr. Chidambaram came under attack in Parliament on Friday over his comments reportedly made during his interaction with U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer in 2009 that India would have made more progress if it had only southern and western parts.
In the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh raised the issue, saying Mr. Chidambaram, despite being the Home Minister, had made comments “against the national unity.”
Mr. Chidambaram said Mr. Singh himself had refused to comment on the WikiLeaks cables in the context of the cash-for-votes scam.
Home Minister should resign, says Swamy
Chennai Special Correspondent reports:
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Saturday demanded the resignation of Mr. Chidambaram for his comments to Mr. Roemer.
“I demand that the Prime Minister dismiss Mr. Chidambaram from the Home Ministry for expressing his views to a foreign diplomat,” Dr. Swamy told journalists.
“How can a Home Minister speak against one part of the country? It is against the unity and integrity of the country,” he said.
Mohali match
He also urged the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to attend the India-Pakistan cricket World Cup semi-final at Mohali on March 30, saying it would create “undue pressure” on Indian players.
The Prime Minister's presence, he said, also would amount to betrayal of the National Security Guard (NSG) jawans who laid down their lives during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“March 30 is also the founding day of NSG,” he said.
As regards Dr. Singh's invitation to Pakistani leaders to watch the match, he said it would not be proper for him to share the dais with them since India held Pakistan guilty of the Mumbai attacks.
