NEW DELHI: Two days after triggering a political storm with his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of safety of Indian sailors, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is at loggerheads with his party leadership again over remarks on Jammu and Kashmir.
Tharoor’s remarks that there was “encouraging progress towards normalcy” in Jammu and Kashmir, made after meeting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday, drew criticism from the Congress. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera said that comments on such a sensitive issue should take into account the views of all stakeholders.
Seeking to defuse the situation, Tharoor clarified on Monday that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, which he heads, was not in Jammu and Kashmir to assess conditions in the valley. He said the committee’s mandate was limited to foreign affairs, including India-Pakistan and India-China relations, and passport services.
Addressing reporters in Delhi, Khera, however, said that Tharoor should have consulted more people before drawing conclusions. “Manoj Sinha will naturally say the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is good. Dr Tharoor should speak to ordinary people, unemployed youth, traders, Kashmiri Pandits and others.
They will tell him the reality on the ground. Have Kashmiri Pandits returned? Has their rehabilitation been completed? These questions remain. I am confident that after meeting everyone, Dr Tharoor will review his views,” Khera said.
Tharoor, who is leading a 10-member parliamentary panel, reached Jammu on Sunday evening. Defending his remarks, the Congress MP said that he had met only the lieutenant governor and not interacted with a wider section of society. “I have not had a chance to see other things or hear other voices. This is not a visit to evaluate conditions in the Kashmir valley,” he said.
On Saturday, Tharoor had said that the PM had conveyed that commercial seafarers should not be treated as combatants, which drew criticism from the Congress.
MP gets defensive: ‘Not had a chance to see other things’
Defending his remarks, the Congress MP said that he had met only the lieutenant governor and not interacted with a wider section of society. “I have not had a chance to see other things or hear other voices. This is not a visit to evaluate conditions in the Kashmir valley,” he said.
