Cong slams it as ‘guided tour’; MEA retorts allegations unfounded
A 15-member group of envoys, including US Ambassador to India Kenneth Ian Juster, commenced their two-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday as part of the Government’s outreach programme to apprise them of the ground situation there after the abrogation of Article 370. The team didn’t include any envoy from the European Union, while Brazil Ambassador backed out at the last minute.
Envoys from the European Union (EU) countries are understood to have conveyed that they will visit the Union Territory on a different date and are also believed to have stressed on meeting the three former Chief Ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — who are under detention.
Officials said envoys of several countries had requested the Government for a visit to Kashmir to get a first-hand account of the situation in the Valley following the August 5 decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 and bifurcate it into two Union Territories, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The Congress accused the Government of “adopting double standards” by organising “guided tours and terming it “political tourism.” However, the External Affairs Ministry said this allegation was unfounded.
Justifying the envoys’ tour, External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in New Delhi the objective of the visit was for them to see first-hand efforts to normalise the situation there and termed the criticism that it was a “guided tour” unfounded. He also said a similar visit to Kashmir can be organised in future for others, including for European Union (EU) envoys.
His clarification came after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in New Delhi, “the Government is adopting double standards by allowing foreign envoys to visit Jammu & Kashmir, but not Indian politicians.”
He, however, clarified that the Congress party was not opposed to such a visit, but Indian politicians should also be allowed to visit there.
Ramesh said this was the second such attempt by the Government, after the one planned for delegates of EU Parliamentarians on October 29 last year. At that time after facing criticism, the Government had to say it was an informal visit and not an official one, the Congress leader said.
When a parliamentary delegation, Opposition leaders, former Congress president and CPI(M) general secretary, could not go to Jammu & Kashmir, then what was the purpose of taking foreign envoys there, Ramesh asked.
After they arrived in Srinagar by a chartered flight, they were then taken directly to the Army cantonment for a briefing. Top officials from the newly carved out Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir received the delegation, which will be going to Jammu later in the day and stay the night there.
The envoys will meet Lt Governor GC Murmu as well as civil society members and receive briefings on the security situation from various agencies, officials said.
Besides the US, the delegation includes diplomats from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, Maldives, South Korea, Morocco, and Nigeria. They will return to Delhi on Friday. Brazil’s envoy Andre Aranha Correa do Lago was also scheduled to visit Jammu & Kashmir. However, he backed out because of his preoccupation here, the officials said on Wednesday.
Giving details about the visit, the External Affairs Ministry Spokesman said in New Delhi the tour was facilitated by the Government and the envoys met security officials, political leaders, civil society groups and media. The visit was organised considering prevailing situation, he said.
Asked about political leaders who met the group, Kumar said the visit by the envoys to Kashmir is not yet over. The EU envoys wanted to visit Kashmir in a group and the Government did not extend invite to all, he said.
Reacting to the visit, the National Conference, whose two leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah are in detention since August 5, said it was “disappointed” with the way the Government brought envoys from various countries to J&K to “endorse” its “claims of normalcy” in the UT.
The party alleged that the envoys were brought to the Kashmir Valley on a “guided tour”, where access has been limited to “handpicked individuals who toe the Government line. The National Conference is disappointed with the way foreign envoys have been brought to the Valley to endorse the Centre’s claims of normalcy.”
In another development, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expelled eight party leaders for going “against the will of the people” by engaging in parleys with the Government. The eight leaders met the visiting envoys.
“PDP expels leaders for going against the will of the people,” the party said in a Press release posted on its official Twitter handle. The leaders who have been expelled are Dilawar Mir, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Zaffar Iqbal, Abdul Majeed Padroo, Raja Manzoor Khan, Javaid Hussain Baig, Qamar Hussain and Abdul Rahim Rather -- all former MLAs.
The Press release also said the party disciplinary committee has recommended the expulsion of all these leaders from the basic membership of the party. The expelled leaders have thrown their weight behind former PDP leader Syed Altaf Bukhari and were part of the delegation that met Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu On Tuesday.
This is the second visit of a foreign delegation to Jammu & Kashmir since August 5 when Article 370 giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir was abrogated. Earlier, Delhi-based think tank International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, a Delhi-based think tank took 23 EU MPs on a two-day visit to assess the situation in the Union Territory.
The Government had distanced itself from the visit with Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy informing Parliament that the European parliamentarians were on a “private visit”.