The party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that over the last three days, India witnessed an immature, ill-advised and ill-conceived PR exercise of the BJP government organized by an "international business broker", in which 27 members of the European Parliament were brought to India by a nondescript think tank with questionable credentials to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visit Kashmir and hold a press briefing. Only 23 went to Kashmir on a BJP government-facilitated trip as four members returned back from Delhi itself.
Surjewala asked the government why it is internationalising the Kashmir issue as it is an internal part of India. He said India's time tested policy over the last 72 years is that Kashmir is our internal issue and we will accept no interference or third party mediation of any nature from any government or group of people or organisation or any individual. The Modi government has committed the gravest sin of reversing this policy over the last three days, he said.
Randeep Surjewala said the "BJP government has insulted India's Parliament and our democratic spirit. When our own Members of Parliament and Leaders of Opposition visit Kashmir, they are detained and deported from the airport by the present BJP government. On the other hand, the BJP government is rolling out the red carpet for a private visit by EU MPs facilitated by an unknown 'International Business Broker'.
The Congress sought answers from the government on who is Madi Sharma, who facilitated the EU delegation's trip to Kashmir.
"Modi Government has made a spectacle of India's diplomacy by outsourcing diplomacy to an 'International Business Broker'. Will the Prime Minister tell us who is Madi Sharma? What is BJP's connection to 'Women's Economic and Social Think Tank' as also to 'International Institute for Non-aligned Studies'? Why and in what capacity is Madi Sharma fixing an appointment with the Prime Minister for a delegation of EU MPs on a personal visit and why is Government of India facilitating it? Where is the money to finance the entire visit coming from? Why has MEA been completely sidelined?"
The truth is that this is the biggest 'diplomatic blunder' in India's history, the Congress said.
"Modi Government has committed a grave sacrilege by introducing a third party to assess the ground situation in Kashmir and that also through an unknown think tank. By doing so, Government has caused an affront to India's sovereign right over Jammu & Kashmir," said Surjewala.
( With inputs from IANS )