The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed two adjournments as Opposition members protested against the meeting of an Indian journalist with 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan.
The uproar triggered a war of words outside Parliament, with Saeed tweeting, “Row in Indian Parliament over a journalist meeting with us shows the extremism, narrow-mindedness of their politicians. Utterly shameful.”
The journalist, Ved Pratap Vaidik, said his meeting with Saeed last month had nothing to do with the government and he had not gone there as a government emissary.
“I am my own envoy. Journalists in Pakistan have known me for decades. They made a gesture [about meeting Saeed] and I said all right I will meet him. It was no big deal for me. It was a simple thing. For me it was like meeting Maoists of Nepal, the Taliban of Afghanistan,” he told PTI.
Statement soughtAlthough the government tried to distance itself from the meeting, Opposition Congress members insisted on a detailed statement in both the Houses on “the purpose and the motive behind the meeting” with India’s most wanted terrorist.
Congress member Digvijaya Singh wanted to know from the Leader of the House, Arun Jaitley, if such a meeting had the government’s sanction.
Chairman Hamid Ansari disallowed the question, saying the matter should be raised appropriately. However, Congress members, including Mr. Singh and Satyavrat Chaturvedi, continued with their volley of questions, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House initially for 15 minutes.
When the House met again, senior member Anand Sharma said Saeed was a terrorist wanted not just in India but all over the world. Mr. Jaitley responded by saying that he agreed that Saeed had indulged in grave acts of terrorism against India. Alleging that the journalist was a key member of foundations and platforms close to the BJP, Mr. Sharma said such a meeting could not take place without the government’s knowledge. Raising the matter in the Lok Sabha, K.C. Venugopal (Congress), N.K. Premachandran (RSP) and E. Ahamad (IUML) sought a statement. Asking the agitated members to take their seat, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said they cannot compel the government to make a statement.
Speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament, Congress member Mani Shankar Aiyar, who led the delegation to Pakistan in which Mr. Vaidik was a member, said: “The Regional Peace Initiative of Islamabad had invited us. The meeting lasted a day. Most of us returned the same day. Some people, including Mr. Vaidik, stayed back. What he did after the delegation left is his business.”
Asked if there were any feelers during their stay about Saeed wanting to meet them, Mr. Aiyar said: “No, I did not receive any such feelers.”
