Mr Sharma also said the government was “disrespecting” Parliament.
New Delhi: “I have given a notice under Rule 267 so that the Prime Minister and his government inform the House about the developments and the reasons which have made the government make a fundamental departure from the position as was conveyed to this august House in the last session with regard to India’s engagement with Pakistan,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said.
Mr Sharma also said the government was “disrespecting” Parliament. The government on its part assured the Opposition that Ms Susma Swaraj will make a statement on the issue later this week.
“The fact that the foreign secretaries have accompanied the national security advisers means that the scope and the agenda has been expanded. Therefore, we would demand the government takes Parliament into confidence and the Prime Minister shares what has been the understanding reached between him and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the government now to move forward,” he said.
Responding to him, MoS parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi reaffirmed the government’s strong commitment to the national interest, and said, “On the issue raised by you, I assure you that on December 10 the external affairs minister will come to the House and provide all information on the issues that you have raised.”
K.C. Tyagi (JDU) raised the issue of the Pakistani NSA’s purported statement that the issue of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir will also be discussed at the talks. “What do you mean by that? Is this a departure from the past? We want the minister to declare the government’s position on Kashmir,” he said.
The government also faced flak from senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, a former external affairs minister, who questioned its strategy, saying it should explain to the country why it was resuming the dialogue after the ruling party had insisted that talks and terror cannot go on together.
