After Pakistan quotes Gandhi, he calls Kashmir India's 'internal matter'
Congress' ex-President Rahul Gandhi has made his stand "absolutely clear" on the Kashmir issue. He called it India's internal matter and reiterated that there's no room for any other country to "intervene". Thinking what drove his comments? Apparently, Pakistan has used Gandhi's name in a petition moved in United Nations on the raging issue. His words confirm Congress wanted to remain in the clear.
What exactly did Gandhi say?
This morning, Gandhi posted two tweets. In one he wrote he disagrees with the BJP-run government on a number of issues but he is also of the opinion that Kashmir is India's internal matter. In the next tweet, he said J&K is ridden by violence because of Pakistan and added it's well-known that the neighboring country sponsors terrorism.
You can read his tweets here
Just last week, Gandhi failed to leave Srinagar Airport
These tweets come merely four days after Gandhi was forced to return from Srinagar by the government. On Saturday, Gandhi and 11 other Opposition leaders wanted to visit the border state to understand what was happening on the ground. To their misfortune, security officials didn't even allow them to leave the airport premises. A dejected Gandhi came to Delhi and sharply criticized Centre.
On returning to Delhi, Gandhi said situation isn't normal
What Gandhi learned in his brief visit, which only involved hopping airports, was that the government was lying about Kashmir. He said, "We wanted to get a sense of what people are going through and help the situation if we could. It's clear that things are not normal in Jammu and Kashmir." Unsurprisingly, Congress endorsed his views in a tweet.
Congress supported its former chief via a tweet
In fact, Congress also had a strong message for Pakistan
By now, it's established that Gandhi is not a fan of how J&K situation is being handled by the government. But despite the differences, Pakistan shouldn't interfere, he clarified. Interestingly, Congress also slammed Pakistan for using Gandhi's name to bolster its "lies" at the global stage. The party's spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said Pakistan should talk about human rights violations in PoK-Gilgit-Hunza-Balochistan.
Damage-control much?
"Let no one in the world be in doubt that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were, are and shall always remain an integral part of India. No amount of diabolical deception by Pakistan shall change this irrevocable truth," a statement by the party read.
Not long ago, Congress-MP refused to call Kashmir "internal matter"
Pertinently, Rahul may have underlined that Kashmir is an internal matter, but his party's MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (who is the leader in Lok Sabha), didn't think so when he attacked BJP over the stunning decision. Chowdhury had asked how can Kashmir be an internal matter, when the UN has discussed it. His words caused irreparable damage to Congress which is still scrambling to put up a unified opinion.
After Gandhi's tweets, Pakistan minister had a suggestion
One of the first people to comment on Gandhi's stand was Fawad Hussain, a minister of Pakistan's government, known for his outlandish remarks. Giving a "suggestion" to Gandhi, Hussain said that "confusion is the biggest problem of his politics". "...Stand tall like your great great grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) who is a symbol of Indian Secularism and liberal thinking," Hussain tweeted.
