Vaidik's meeting with Hafiz Saeed unites opposition against govt - Livemint

Both houses of the parliament saw disruptions over the meeting between Ved Prakash Vaidik and Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

New Delhi: For the first time in the 16th Lok Sabha, the Congress party on Tuesday managed to get most of the opposition behind it as it demanded an explanation from the government over allegations that journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik met alleged Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan earlier this month as an envoy of the Narendra Modi government.

The opposition, which has been divided on issues so far, together confronted the government in both houses of the Parliament, asking if the meeting with the Pakistani militant was sought by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

The protesting Congress members were joined by members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to Left parties, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Samajwadi Party (SP) in both houses.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj denied the allegations. “I want to state it unequivocally that the government has no links with Vaidik’s visit. It was his personal visit and the government had no communication with him,” Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, the minister added: “The government condemns this meeting with the chief accused of Mumbai terror attack.”

Both the houses saw disruptions as soon as they met for the day, with the Congress seeking a suspension of the question hour to get the government’s response to what it called a “serious matter”. Both houses also witnessed repeated adjournments.

Among those who demanded a government response was Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi , who deepened the rift between the ruling and opposition parties by linking Vaidik with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent.

“The man is an RSS man. That is a known fact. We are curious to know if the Indian embassy facilitated this meeting,” Gandhi told reporters on Tuesday. Gandhi joined the protesting MPs, when they left their seats pressing for a statement from the government.

The opposition also was united in a failed attempt to get the government to condemn the killings of Palestinians in the Israeli bombing offensive in Gaza that began last Tuesday. The death toll from Israel’s week-long campaign in Gaza rose on Tuesday to 196, after another six Palestinians died, four of them in strikes before Israel accepted an Egyptian ceasefire, AFP reported.

Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members Mehbooba Mufti and Tariq Hameed Karra came to the well of the house protesting against the killing of “innocent” Palestinians in Gaza. They carried placards that read “Gaza needs our voice”, “In solidarity with Gaza” and shouted out, “Speak India, Speak”.

But Speaker Sumitra Mahajan warned them not to bring in placards to the house.

Although the entire opposition, including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which so far has backed the government on almost all issues, wanted a resolution moved in Parliament to condemn the Israeli raids, but the government did not oblige.

Parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said, “I have noted the views expressed by the members...but the government has no plans to bring a resolution on this. Domestic politics should not affect our foreign policy.” He said the matter is “highly sensitive” concerning foreign policy and “any move by the government should not have any implications”.

Protesting against the government’s stand, the Congress, Left parties, PDP, TMC and SP staged walkouts.

PTI and AFP contributed to this story.