On camera, Digvijaya Singh calls Kashmir as India-occupied'; stirs row
Bhopal: In what may give the ruling dispensation fresh ammunition to target, the Opposition, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Thursday used the term Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) for Kashmir while attempting to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the current state of affairs in the Valley.
“Narendra Modi ji is more concerned about Pakistan occupied Kashmir. He thanks the people living in that area and that of Balochistan. But he is not ready to talk with people living in Kashmir. If we have to bring trust in the region, whether its Indian occupied Kashmir or Pakistan occupied Kashmir, we have to do that through talks,” Singh told reporters.
#WATCH: Digvijaya Singh addresses J&K as India occupied Kashmir, later clarifies that it's integral part of Indiahttps://t.co/6XC28a2q5T
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 18, 2016
The Congress leader, however, went in damage control mode and said that the Prime Minister is least bothered about Kashmir, which is an integral part of India.
“I said that Prime Minister is not concerned about India’s Kashmir but about PoK. Kashmir is an integral part of India,” he said.
On Wednesday, Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram had blamed the PDP-BJP government for the unrest in Kashmir Valley and said the statements of Narendra Modi have "exacerbated" the crisis.
Chidambaram said he was deeply concerned over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is "sliding into total chaos". "The PDP-BJP government is squarely responsible for the sharp deterioration in the last 6 weeks," he said in a statement.
The former Home and Finance Minister in the UPA government said the statements of the Prime Minister, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar have "exacerbated" the crisis. "Moderation in words and actions alone can retrieve the situation. The loss of lives -- of protesting youth, other civilians and security forces -- has devastated all of us. This must stop," he said.
Normal life in Kashmir Valley has been affected due to protests against the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8. 63 persons have been so far killed in the ongoing unrest.
