Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Lok Sabha on Monday that the Centre was not happy with the clarification given by the Jammu and Kashmir government over the release of Kashmiri separatist Masarat Alam.
"We have asked for further clarifications from the state govermnment. As soon as we receive that we will make a statement in the House," Modi said.
The PM said the Centre was not consulted by the PDP-BJP government in J-K before taking the decision to release Alam, prompting the cpposition to demand that his party should then withdraw from the coalition.
As angry exchanges between both sides continued, Modi told the opposition: "Do not teach us patriotism."
"We will speak as one voice against any incident that affects the unity and integrity of the country. I assure the Opposition that we will not make any compromises on this," Modi said.
Parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu also said the Centre was never consulted on Alam's release by Mufti Sayeed's government in J-K.
Speaking on the issue, home minister Rajnath singh said the Centre would not hesitate to issue a strong advisory against the Mufti Muhammed Sayeed government in J-K if it was not happy with the explanation given on the release of Alam.
The PM's reply came on the issue after the Congress and other opposition members triggered a ruckus in both houses of Parliament, demanding Modi's explanation
Both houses saw brief adjournments amid Opposition ruckus over the issue.
The Opposition was up in arms even after the government assured them that home minister Rajnath Singh would make a statement in Lok Sabha.
While speaking in Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge alleged the PDP-BJP coalition government in the militancy-hit state might have released the Hurriyat hardliner after consulting the Prime Minister.
"We gave adjournment motion on Masarat Alam. Let's see what happens," Kharge said earlier in the day.
Opposition members in both houses resorted to slogan shouting after the Congress move for the adjournment motion was turned down by the chair.
Massive row
The Centre asked the J-K government on Sunday to explain Alam's release. The state BJP condemned the release, on chief minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s orders, and said it would rather sacrifice the government — its first in the border state — than be part of such an “insult” to the nation.
Alam, 42, was released after close to five years in detention as part of a state government initiative to release political prisoners facing no criminal charges.
This crisis comes even as the BJP continues its firefight against Mufti’s remarks crediting Pakistan and the separatists for peaceful conduct of assembly elections in the state, and is being viewed as a decision that has driven another wedge between troubled alliance partners BJP and PDP.
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