Did Indian embassy facilitate Vaidik-Saeed meet, questions Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Describing journalist Ved PratapVaidik as an "RSS man", Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned whether the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had facilitated the meeting between him and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
"The question is did the Indian embassy facilitate the gentleman (Vaidik) or not. We are curious to find out if Indian embassy has facilitated this event.
"If they helped this gentleman in any way. That's what we are curious about," the Congress Vice President told reporters here.
External Affairs Minister needs to come out clean on this : Kamal Nath on Ved Vaidik pic.twitter.com/UcLupbv95E
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 15, 2014Read: Did not meet Hafiz Saeed as government envoy: Ramdev aide
A row has erupted over the meeting of Vaidik, considered close to yoga guru Ramdev, with Saeed with the journalist rejecting suggestions made by Congress that he might have acted as government's envoy.
Vaidik had met the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said to be the parent organisation of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, in Lahore on July 2 while touring Pakistan along with a group of journalists and politicians invited by a peace research institute.
Man is a man no matter what orgnstn he belongs to. Where did RSS come into picture?: Venkaiah Naidu on Rahul Gandhi's comment on Ved Vaidik
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 15, 2014"Ya he is an RSS man. That's a known fact," Gandhi said to a question about Vaidik.
Congress has targeted the Prime Minister's Office over the meeting alleging its "direct involvement" and asked the government to "come clean" on the issue.
Congress leaders had also yesterday raised in Parliament and outside the issue of Vaidik meeting Saeed, saying the journalist was "very close to Sangh parivar" and rejected the government's contention that it had nothing to do with the meeting.
"Vaidik belonged to the same organisation Vivekananda International Foundation, whose three members Nripendra Misra, P K Mishra and Ajit Doval are working for the Modi government as Principal Secretary, Additional Principal Secretary in PMO and National Security Advisor (NSA) respectively," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed had said at the AICC briefing.
We meet everyone with an open heart, whoever wants to meet; regardless of nation, belief or religion. #VidekMeeting
— Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedJUD) July 14, 2014Sadly,So called 'Secular' India is unable to bear an informal meeting of her journalist, Mr.Videk; another eg of Indian narrow mindedness
— Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedJUD) July 14, 2014We discussed how all 26/11 evidences provided by India have been rejected & asked Mr.Vaidik, why India does not respect Pakistani courts ?
— Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedJUD) July 14, 2014Row in Indian parliament over a journalists meeting with us shows the extremism, narrow mindedness of their politicians. Utterly Shameful.
— Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedJUD) July 14, 2014Dr.Vaidik asked if we would protest Modi's visit to Pakistan, on which I replied, "We don't participate in such 'politics & protests".
— Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedJUD) July 14, 2014