Pakistan’s letter to the United Nations alleging human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, after Article 370 was scrapped, mentions not only Congress leader Rahul Gandhi but also Haryana Chief Minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Vikram Saini.
The seven-page letter written by Pakistan's human rights minister Shireen Mazari quoted Haryana CM under a section titled 'Gender-based Violence as a Weapon of War’ saying that with Kashmir now open, “brides will be brought from there to here”.
Khattar had on August 10 courted controversy with his remarks that "some people are now saying that as Kashmir is open, brides will be brought from there".
Khattar was expressing concern over low sex ratio in Haryana at an event when he made the remarks in an apparent reference to the scrapping of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.
"Now some people say, Kashmir is open, they (brides) will be brought from there. But jokes apart, if (sex) ratio is improved, then there will be a right balance in society," he had said. The CM later clarified that it was a “joke”
The BJP leaders' remarks about Kashmiri women were severely criticised by the opposition and rights activists.
Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi had sought information from the government on the ground situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir. “Some reports have come that things in Jammu and Kashmir are going very wrong… It is very-very important that the Prime Minister of India and the government be very transparent about what is happening in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” he had said.
A war of words erupted on Wednesday after media reports said that Rahul Gandhi’s quote on Kashmir found a mention in the letter by Pakistan. The BJP slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying his comments shamed the nation and were "used" by Pakistan. "The Pakistani application to the UN mentions remarks made by Rahul Gandhi. The application states that acts of violence have been acknowledged by mainstream party leaders such as Rahul Gandhi," said union minister Prakash Javadekar.
Gandhi and his party later tweeted that Jammu and Kashmir Kashmir is an integral part of India and blamed Pakistan for the violence in the Valley, BJP dismissed it as a “U-turn”.
The letter also mentions a video featuring BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Vikram Saini, who purportedly said: “Muslim party workers should rejoice in the new provisions. They can now marry the white-skinned women of Kashmir.”
On August 5, the Centre, through a Presidential order, scrapped Artice 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two Union Territories.