NEW DELHI: There was no discussion on Kashmir in the meeting
between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Japan
recently and there is no question of any mediation on the issue, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Amid a walkout of proceedings by the opposition
which has been demanding a statement from the prime minister since Tuesday,
Singh said in the House that mediation on the Kashmir issue is also ruled out
as it is a question of national pride for India.
“There was no discussion on Kashmir during the
meeting between the Prime Minister and US President Trump in June. There is no question of any mediation on Kashmir
issue,” he said.
Singh also asserted that when India talks to
Pakistan, it will not be limited to the issue of Kashmir, but also include
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Defence Minister said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was present at the Trump-Modi meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Osaka and his statement is the “most authentic” on the issue. The External Affairs Minister had already made a statement in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, making it clear that the Prime Minister had made no such request to the US President.
Rajnath
Singh said that there was no discussion on Kashmir in the meeting between
Donald Trump and Narendra Modi in Japan recently and there is no question of
any mediation on the issue.
Earlier, during Question Hour, the Congress, DMK
and a few other parties came to the well demanding presence of Modi in the
House and a statement from him.
They were continuously engaged in sloganeering, trying to
disrupt the proceeding of the House. When the Zero Hour began,
Speaker Om Birla allowed Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to
speak and also asked him to stay put in the House when the Government will
reply to his statement.
Chowdhury said the entire country was confused
following the statement of President Trump and it would be appropriate to hear
from the “horse’s mouth”, the Prime Minister, to make the issue clear as it was
a matter between him (Modi) and Trump. “What
is wrong if we are seeking a statement from the horse’s mouth. The Prime
Minister must come to the House and make a statement,” he said.