The Hurriyat Conference faction led by Syed Ali Geelani on Sunday refused to name Narendra Modi’s two emissaries who the separatist hardliner claimed had met him, and also denied a media report that they were LJP leaders.
“We are bound not to disclose the names of the two Kashmiri Pandit emissaries of Modi, who met 84-year-old Geelani on March 22 in New Delhi. The two emissaries had urged him not to disclose their names, so he (Geelani) is bound not to reveal their identity,” Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said.
“Modi’s BJP knows the facts. It knows who the emissaries were but denies the meeting for political reasons,” he added.
On Friday, Geelani claimed two emissaries had approached him, offering to fix up a meeting with the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate to obtain from him a “commitment” on finding a solution to the Kashmir issue.
Geelani’s spokesperson dismissed a media report that the two emissaries were LJP national youth president Sanjay Saraf and M L Mattoo, a former legislator from the Habbakadal constituency in Srinagar.
Saraf has also denied he was one of the two emissaries who met Geelani.
“I have a personal relation with Geelani and meet him frequently. However, I have never met Geelani on behalf of Modi,” he said.
“I last met him on February 23 in Srinagar to inquire about his health. I didn’t meet Geelani on March 22 as I was busy campaigning for party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in Bihar,” he said.