Govt DOESN'T endorse Mufti's comment on J-K polls: Rajnath clarifies again

The Centre on Tuesday said it did not endorse the controversial statement of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on the state assembly polls, after a vociferous Opposition disrupted Lok Sabha proceedings seeking a clarification from the prime minister.

Responding to the opposition’s demand, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “There is no question of welcoming such remarks” and “there is no question of endorsing the CM’s statement.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said what the “Home Minister has said is the sense of the House. Let us move forward”, following which the opposition unrest over the issue died down.

Rajnath Singh said he has already made it clear that the government and Bharatiya Janata Party fully disassociate themselves from Sayeed’s statement and added that the credit for the smooth conduct of Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls goes to the Election Commission, the army, paramilitary forces and the people of the state.

The opposition had earlier created an uproar demanding a clarification from the PM on the statement by Sayeed, who had courted controversy within hours of taking oath on Sunday saying the Hurriyat, militant outfits and “people from across the border” -- in an oblique reference to Pakistan -- allowed conducive atmosphere for the polls.

A combined opposition disrupted the Question Hour, forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the proceedings twice for brief periods in quick succession.

When the House met, Mahajan allowed Saugata Roy from Trinamool Congress and Deepender Hooda from the Congress, who had given adjournment notices on the matter, to briefly put across their points.

Roy said the issue was sensitive as the home minister had informed the House on Monday that the PM was not told by Sayeed about his views on the smooth conduct of polls, even as the CM had claimed he had spoken to Modi on the issue.

Raising the issue, Hooda said distancing from Sayeed's remarks ‘is not enough and the House must pass a resolution condemning the statement’ of the chief minister.

He said the chief minister should be ‘reined in’ as BJP is an alliance partner in the state government.

The Home minister said since he has already clarified on the stand of the Centre and the BJP, there was no need to raise the issue again today. Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge also said a statement by the pime mnister was necessary as the people wanted to know the stand of the government.

"Sky will not fall if PM makes a statement," he said.

The seaker said the Home mnister's statement was enough as he has an authority to speak on the government's behalf.

Not satisfied, opposition members from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left, the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal rushed in to the Well of the House, raising slogans like "pradhan mantri statement do" and "ninda prastav (resolution condemning Sayeed's remarks) lana hoga."

The question hour resumed after the Home minister and Naidu's statement following two adjournments of 15 minutes each.