Minister's name who replied to Hamas query name corrected
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the Lok Sabha on Monday the name of the central minister who responded to a Parliament question about India's Hamas designation on Friday has been corrected. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi earlier said a technical correction would be made to show V Muraleedharan as the one who replied to the unstarred question. Previously, an official document showed that Meenakshi Lekhi answered the question. Both are ministers of state for external affairs.
Why does this story matter?
Amid the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament, the Congress's Kerala MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran questioned the Centre's stance on the Palestinian terror group Hamas. A reply said relevant government departments would consider declaring terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The response was stated to be from Lekhi, but it sparked a row after she denied approving the question and its response. The opposition called for an investigation, alleging that the reply was "forged," thus prompting the clarification.
Lekhi's denial sparked political row
Lekhi on Saturday responded to an X post over the question, saying, "You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer." However, opposition parties called the incident a "serious breach and violation of rules," leading the government to issue a clarification. Following this, Bagchi said Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 980 needed "a technical correction in terms of reflecting V Muraleedharan as the Minister of State replying to the Parliament question."
Here's what Centre's response said
Kannur MP Sudhakaran's question was titled "Declaration of Hamas as Terrorist Organisation." The Centre's response stated, "Designation of an organization as terrorist is covered under the [UAPA] and declaring any organization as terrorist is considered as per the provisions...by the relevant government departments."
What's India's position on Hamas and Palestine
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking nearly 240 hostages. Since then, Israeli retaliatory attacks on Hamas-controlled Gaza have killed nearly 18,000 people. While India condemned Hamas's offensive as "terror attacks", it recognizes the State of Palestine along with 138 other members of the United Nations (UN). The United Nations Security Council has also not designated Hamas as a terrorist group. Diplomatically, India is sailing on two boats amid the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
