Headlines
Sayeed's remarks cause uproar; Congress attacks, BJP dissociates
New Delhi/Jammu, March 2
Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's controversial remarks giving
credit to militants and Pakistan for the smooth conduct of elections
caused a political uproar on Monday. The Congress demanded a
parliamentary resolution while the government and the BJP dissociated
themselves from the comment. Sayeed and his party PDP, however, stood by
the remarks.
The Congress raised the issue vociferously both
inside and outside parliament and also posed questions to the Bharatiya
Janata Party, which is part of the alliance government in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Congress members in the Lok Sabha insisted on a
statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended Sayeed's
oath-taking function in Jammu on Sunday.
The Congress and some other opposition parties later staged a walkout from the house.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha: "The government and the party fully dissociates themselves from the remarks."
The minister, who faced repeated interruptions, said he had come to the house after talking to the prime minister.
"What I am saying, I am saying with deliberation and with the consent of the prime minister," Rajnath Singh said.
He said the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir were held in a conducive atmosphere.
"I want to give credit for this to the Election Commission, the armed forces and the paramilitary forces," he said.
The
home minister said there had been no secret talks between the prime
minister and the chief minister and no contentious issue was discussed.
The
issue also figured in the Rajya Sabha, with Congress member Shantaram
Naik saying Sayeed's remarks had hurt feelings in the country.
"The
chief minister made a statement which was most controversial and hurt
the nation," Naik said amid slogans of "shame, shame".
Sayeed had
ruffled many a feather by saying at his media conference on Sunday that
if Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants tried to disrupt elections in the
state late last year, there would not have been good participation.
"If
god forbid, the Hurriyat and the militants tried to disrupt the
elections, these would not have been as participative as they had been,"
he had said.
Referring to Pakistan, Sayeed had said: "They (Pakistan) also allowed these elections to take place."
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the government should bring a resolution.
"He
(Sayeed) will know that the entire house is against his remarks. It
(smooth elections) happened because of the people of the state, the
government servants, but they are saying it happened due to Pakistan.
"The prime minister should come and condemn the remarks. What has the chief minister told the prime minister?" Kharge said.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav also sought a statement from Modi.
Sayeed
told reporters in Jammu that he stood by his comments and those raising
a hue and cry over it were trying to make a mountain out of a mole
hill.
Referring to Pakistan and the Hurriyat, Sayeed said they
have recognised that the voter slip is the destiny of the people, not
bullets or grenades.
"This voter slip has been given to us by the
Constitution of India. The people of the state have more faith in
this," he said, adding that there had not been interference from
elements who had been doing so in the past polls.
Sayeed's
daughter and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti
said her father was not a person who makes a remark and later denies
having made it.
"If the separatists have not gone from door to
door telling people to boycott those elections, we should acknowledge
that," she said.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, meanwhile, took a dig at PDP leaders.
"Has
Mufti decided the Modi-Mufti accord was a mistake? Are the
father-daughter duo trying to force BJP to break off the alliance?" he
tweeted.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad
also demanded an explanation from the central government over Sayeed's
remarks.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala addressed a
press conference and posed questions to the BJP about Sayeed's remarks
and its stance on article 370 and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.