UPA encouraging separatists' anti-India tirade: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of encouraging Hurriyat Conference leaders to hobnob with anti-India elements abroad by allowing them to visit Pakistan.

"The Congress-led UPA government is responsible for encouraging Hurriyat Conference's anti-India tirade, not only on Indian soil but also in Pakistan. This is the only example of a government anywhere in the world facilitating foreign tours by secessionists and separatists so that they can hobnob with anti-India elements and wage a war against the republic of India," said BJP national executive member and chief spokesperson Dr Jitendra Singh.

Singh was referring to the purported meetings held in Pakistan by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat delegation with Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul chief Sayed Salah-ud-Din and senior functionaries of the Inter Services Intelligence.

Singh said although the passport authorities and the external affairs ministry made extensive inquiries to ascertain the purpose of a foreign visit while clearing travel documents of ordinary citizens, "surprisingly, in case of the Hurriyat delegation, why was the visa issued without ascertaining the exact motive behind the visit to Pakistan".

He further sought to know why the government had laid down, "no terms and conditions (despite) knowing very well the credentials and anti-India leanings of these leaders".

It was also charged that a negative signal had been conveyed by the Indian Foreign Office who had made sure that the travel documents of the Hurriyat delegation were processed on the fast-track.

According to the BJP spokesperson, the move suggested that these leaders' visit to Pakistan was extremely urgent and of great national importance to India.

Singh said,"This is a matter of grave security concern particularly in the backdrop of recent incidents of cross-firing along LoC and beheading of Indian soldiers, for which the Hurriyat leaders' unchecked machinations have acted as a catalyst."

"Things have come to such a pass that Hurriyat leaders are feeling emboldened to echo Hafiz Saeed's threat of a jihadi war in Jammu and Kashmir," Singh said, demanding immediate prosecution of all the members of the Hurriyat delegation, whom
he accused of engaging in anti-India activities in Pakistan.

He wanted to know why such a militant-friendly secessionist organisation should not be immediately banned when the government was busy unleashing all kinds of terror on pro-India organisations and nationalist political parties.