The government has ‘categorically assured’ the Parliament that no request was made by PM Modi, as claimed by US President Donald Trump, to mediate in the Kashmir dispute.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. (Photo: IANS)
The Congress on Tuesday dared Prime Minister Prime Narendra Modi to “wake up” and call US President Donald Trump’s claim that he was asked by the PM to mediate in the Kashmir issue a “bluff”.
“Now, ‘Whitehouse’ puts up POTUS’ (Donald Trump) assertion in ‘black and white’ that Prime Minister Modi asked him to ‘mediate on Kashmir’,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet.
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“When will our Prime Minister ‘wake up’ and call the bluff if President Trump is lying? Or did Prime Minister Modi ask POTUS (Donald Trump) to mediate?” Surjewala further said sharpening his attack on Modi.
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Earlier, the Congress had demanded an explanation from Modi after Trump claimed that he was asked to mediate on the Kashmir issue.
“To ask a foreign power to mediate in Jammu and Kashmir by Modi is a sacrilegious betrayal of country’s interests,” Surjewala said in a tweet.
“India has never accepted third party mediation in Jammu and Kashmir. Let the Prime Minister answer to the Nation,” he added.
Meanwhile, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said that the Congress will raise the issue in the Parliament.
Addressing a press conference on Monday before his meeting with visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the White House, Trump said: “I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago, and we talked about the subject. And he actually said, ‘would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator’, and I said ‘where?’, and he said ‘Kashmir’, because this has been going on for many, many years. I was surprised for how long it has been going on,” to which Imran Khan interjected to say, “70 years”.
“I think they (India) would like to see it resolved, and I think you (Pakistan) would like to see it resolved. And if I can help, I would love to be mediator,” the US President said.
The Centre has, however, rejected the claims.
The government has “categorically assured” the Parliament that no request was made by PM Modi, as claimed by US President Donald Trump, to mediate in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, both the Houses of the Parliament witnessed an uproar by the opposition leaders over the claims made by Donald Trump.
As per the 1972 Simla Agreement, India has so far maintained that it will not have a third party involvement in the Kashmir issue, which it sees as a bilateral matter with Pakistan.
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