Tag: Jammu and Kashmir european delegation

PDP’s Selective Action Against Party Leaders Creates Fresh Fissures

The party expelled its Rajya Sabha MP Nazir Ahmad Laway for ‘anti-party activities’ but did nothing against Muzaffar Hussain Baig, for his attempts to reach out to New Delhi.

Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on November 1, expelled its Rajya Sabha MP Nazir Ahmad Laway from the party’s basic membership for his “anti-party activities”.

However, the party did not act against another senior leader, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, for his attempts to reach out to New Delhi.

Laway ‘undermined’ the party

Laway’s alleged fault was his participation in the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Union territory of J&K, Girish Chandra Murmu, in the summer capital Srinagar on October 31.

The PDP termed Laway’s participation as a “contravention” to its stand regarding the prevailing political situation in J&K following New Delhi’s unilateral decision to scrap the state’s special status under Article 370 of the constitution.

“The decision (to expel Laway) was taken because he undermined the party position by taking part in the swearing-in ceremony,” reads the statement issued by PDP.

The swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhawan was a low-key affair and marked the first day of the transition of J&K into two Union territories under the J&K Re-organisation Act, 2019.

Apart from senior officials of the state, invitations were extended to MPs from J&K. None other than Laway, accused of cozying up to BJP, attended the function, embarrassing his party.

A senior party leader privy to Laway’s expulsion said his participation in the swearing-in ceremony was “endorsement” of New Delhi’s new arrangement for J&K.

“It was not a small act. He is a habitual offender,” said the party leader pleading anonymity. “His Twitter handle shows that in the past two months he has spoken everything in favour of Delhi and nothing for Kashmir. At the end of the day, it undermines the party leadership,” the party leader said.


The PDP spokesperson Firdous Tak said the party remains ‘sacrosanct and above individual members’. According to Tak, the party cannot be part of any discourse which has the potential to further alienate the people of J&K.

Watch | Kashmir: ‘Timing, Selection of Euro MPs Could Have Been Better’

“The decision (to expel Laway) must have been taken after considering all the circumstances and facts and present political situation in Kashmir,” said Tak.

Unchallenged Baig

Contrary to the action against Laway, the PDP has chosen not to act against Baig, its chief patron, who last week met the delegation of European Union lawmakers in New Delhi, ahead of their visit to Kashmir.

The sojourn of the EU lawmakers was described by many as arranged by New Delhi to project that the situation was normal in the otherwise restive region.

The dichotomy in PDP’s modus operandi has now raised eyebrows over its functioning. The decision to “use two yardsticks”, as one party member described it, has not gone down well within the party ranks.

Baig participated in the closed-door meeting with the EU members at a time when the PDP said that it would not participate in any “choreographed rhetoric” to present normalcy in Kashmir.

Baig was leading two other Kashmiri politicians, Altaf Bukhari and Usman Majeed.

Bukhari has served as a minister in the previous PDP-BJP coalition. However, he was removed from the party after BJP pulled the rug from under the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s feet in June last year.

A file photo of Narendra Modi and Mehbooba Mufti. Credit: PTI

A file photo of Narendra Modi and Mehbooba Mufti. Photo: PTI

Majeed, an Ikhwan commander (counterinsurgent) turned politician, is a member of the Congress party. He has been issued a show-cause notice by the party high command asking him to explain his meeting with the EU delegation.

Reports said that the trio also met the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval who briefed the high profile delegation of Kashmir situation.

The EU parliamentary delegation visit was also questioned by Mehbooba’s daughter, Iltija, who operates her mother’s Twitter account and responds to every political development vis-à-vis Kashmir.

“Wondering what outcome GOI expected by sending a group of mostly right-leaning Islamophobic EUMPs to Kashmir? Were you expecting nine million oppressed Kashmiris to lay out a red carpet for them?,” read a statement posted by Iltija which coincided with the EU delegation visit.

Ironically, a day after Baig’s meeting with the EU parliamentarians, the PDP distanced itself from the development saying the party leader had gone in his “individual capacity”.

Also read: In Kashmir, the Justice System Is in Limbo

“He met EU parliamentarians in his individual capacity. PDP has nothing to do with the meeting,” an official spokesperson said. “The party’s stand is clear that it will not be part of any choreographed rhetoric to present normalcy in Kashmir. The party stand is also clear on the issue of Article 370.”

A former PDP minister, wishing not to be named, said that given that Baig was the chief patron of the party, his participation in the meeting with the EU delegation was seen as a “sellout” by the party and a “compromise” of its stand on Kashmir.

“The party should have acted 9against Baig) given the stand that the PDP will sacrifice everything for its agenda,” said the former PDP minister. “If the party can act against the MP [Laway] for undermining the party’s stand, why no action against him [Baig], who too has crossed the line.”

Another leader said Baig’s meeting “hurt” the party’s stand on Kashmir, particularly in the wake of the August 5 decision of the government of India.

“The European delegation was bussed to the Valley to present a rosy picture of the situation which is far from reality. It was a managed event and unfortunately PDP became a party to it,” the leader said.

Unmoved Laway  

Defending his decision to participate in the swearing-in ceremony, Laway said there was no direction from the party against attending the function.

“Had it been so, I won’t have attended it. I attended the oath ceremony (of the Lt Governor) in the capacity of the Rajya Sabha member and not as PDP member,” the MP from Kulgam district said.

Laway denied having knowledge about his expulsion from the party.

“How can a party spokesperson issue a statement claiming that I have been expelled from the party when our President (Mehbooba) is in jail,” Laway said. “I want to know who the spokesperson is and what authority does he hold to expel me from the party.”

Mehbooba, who is the former J&K chief minister has been under detention since August 5, the day New Delhi unilaterally scrapped J&K’s special status.

This is not for the first time that Laway has acted against the party’s directive. Earlier this year, he abstained from voting against the Triple Talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, despite directions from the party president.

“That time Laway even ignored the direction from the party leadership to resign as MP for violating the directions,” said another party member.

Laway tore a copy of the constitution, along with another PDP MP Mir Muhammed Fayaz on August 5, minutes before the Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The bigger game?

Both Laway’s participation in the swearing-in ceremony and Baig’s meeting with the MEPs could be an indicator of fresh fissures within the party at a time when its leadership and leaders of other political parties are in jail and the political process has come to a grinding halt in the region.

Also read: Euro MPs In, Indian MPs Out – and Democracy Down the Drain in Kashmir

“For the PDP cadre, Mehbooba Mufti is the uncontested leader and under present circumstances, we shall stand by her and people. In 2015, she was pressurised to take up reins of the government in the state by Delhi when it indulged in different pressure tactics. Today, again they are trying to weaken her through same tactics,” said Tak.

Unfazed, Baig, a Harvard Law School Graduate and former advocate general of J&K, on November 2 issued a statement asking politicians in J&K to evolve a common strategy on the issue of contesting elections.

“If political parties have some understanding with the central government then they should contest,” Baig, the former deputy chief minister was quoted by IANS as having said. “Otherwise, the excuse will be you did not contest the elections, you are not the representatives of the people and why should we listen to you to restore the statehood and grant you the benefits of Article 371 of the Constitution of India.”

The statement from Baig, who many believe nurtures an ambition to become the chief minister of the state, came on the day a local newspaper reported that hectic parleys were underway with several politicians, including Baig on board, to prepare the ground for a new front to lead a future civilian government in J&K, excluding the Abdullahs and Muftis.

Modi, Doval Lay Out Red Carpet for Right-Wing Euro MPs on ‘Private Visit’ to Kashmir

Most of the 27 members of parliament belong to euro-sceptic, right wing populist parties. India has so far refused to allow any foreign journalists, officials or diplomats to travel to the Valley.

New Delhi: For the first time since August 5, India will be taking a group of over two dozen Members of European Parliament (MEPs), mostly from right-wing parties, to Kashmir on Tuesday.

The details about the visit was first reported by news agency ANI, which also listed names of 27 members of parliament, most of are from extreme right-wing or euro-sceptic  populist parties.

Having arrived in Delhi on Sunday, the MEPs met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday – and will be travelling to Kashmir on Tuesday.

Their visit, at the invitation of the little-known Delhi International Institute for Nonaligned Studies,  has kicked up a political storm with the opposition noting the irony of European legislators being taken to Kashmir by the government when most Indian politicians are being stopped.

The Indian government had steered legislation on August 5 that changed the constitution to allow for nullification of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories. The Centre had also imposed a communication lockdown and restrictions on movement in the state. While some of those restrictions have been withdrawn, there is still a ban on mobile data and SMS services, as well as on internet access.

According to the EU office in India, the ongoing visit is not an official visit of the European parliament. The EU’s representatives to India have also not been involved in the organisation of the trip and the MEPs are travelling in their “private capacity”.

Similarly, individual country diplomatic missions had also not been aware of the visit of their MEPs till the meeting with Prime Minister Modi was announced on Monday noon.

The IINS website provides no information about the visit. The institute’s last listed public “activities” are from 1998 while its website notes it participated in various UN and NAM events till 2012.

Also read: Kashmir, a Tourism Hub? Numbers Tell a Different Story – Most Tourists Are Pilgrims

The Ministry of External Affairs does not seem to be directly involved in organising the visit. The Indians missions were also not involved as the tickets were reportedly sponsored by a European think-tank, WESTT, run by a British-Indian businesswoman, Madi Sharma, but the information could not be confirmed.

One British MEP, Chris Davies of the Liberal Democrats, told the Washington Post‘s Delhi correspondent he was disinvited after he “insisted he must be free to talk with local people, unaccompanied by police or security forces, and invite journalists.”

South Block sources said that the MEA was not the chief organiser of the visit, but was involved to the extent of facilitating events like the interaction with Prime Minister Modi.

As per a read-out of the meeting between Modi and the visiting MEPs, the PM raised a range of issues from trade to his flagship programmes and India-EU relations.

On Kashmir, Modi hoped that they would have a “fruitful visit”. “Their visit to Jammu and Kashmir should give the delegation a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the region of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh; apart from giving them a clear view of the development and governance priorities of the region,” said Modi, as per the press release from Prime Minister’s Office.

They also met with national security advisor Ajit Doval over lunch and were briefed about the situation in Kashmir and terrorism emanating from across the border, PTI reported.

The trip has significance as India has so far refused to allow any foreign journalists, officials or diplomats to travel to the Valley. Most Indian legislators have also been prevented from visiting the Valley, with prominent leaders turned back at Srinagar airport and made to board the next flight out. 

Indian government sources claim that this could be the start of an opening up the Valley, though there are still no information on the next foreign delegation.

During the Congressional hearing at the house foreign affairs sub-committee on October 22, India had come in for heavy criticism for not allowing any US officials to visit the valley since the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir was withdrawn and communication restrictions imposed.

India had refused to permit a visiting US Senator Chris Van Hollen to go to Kashmir, which was condemned by his colleagues in the House.

US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia Alice Wells said India also revealed that Washington had sought to send officials to Jammu and Kashmir to gather first-hand information, but did not get the green light from Delhi.

Following the hearing, six US lawmakers also wrote to the Indian ambassador, Harsh Shringla, to inquire whether there was a proposal to allow foreign journalists and officials to visit Kashmir. “We believe true transparency can only be achieved when journalists and Members of Congress are allowed free access to the region,” said the letter.

There have also been several requests from India-based foreign ambassadors, who hope that their pending applications will now be honoured. So far, there is no confirmed dates for another visit by a foreign delegation after the MEPs.

When The Wire contacted the dean of diplomatic corps to ask whether there were any developments on a trip by foreign diplomats to Kashmir, Hans Dannenberg Castellanos of the Dominican Republic said, “If the MEA coordinates such a visit for foreign envoys based in Delhi, most would be very interested to take up the offer”.

Out of the 27 MEPs, all six from Poland are from the right-wing populist Law and Justice party. It includes Ryszard Czarnecki who raised the issue of cross-border terrorism during a special debate on Kashmir at the plenary session of the European parliament last month.

Italy’s Fulvio Martusciello from the centre-right Forza Italia, who had also defended India at the discussions, is one among the four Italian participants. The other three are from the centre-left Partito Democratico and far-right Lega political parties.

From France, all six members are from the right wing, anti-European Rassemblement National party, which was known as National Front till June 2018.

Both members from Germany are from the right-wing, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland. The four UK MEPs include four Brexit party members and one liberal democrat.

The MePs aso include two Christian democrats from Slovakia and Czechia. The sole member from Belgium is Tom Vandendriessche, who belongs to a Flemish nationalist right-wing populist party.

Opposition reactions

The news about the visit of MEPs was criticised by Indian opposition leaders, who questioned the Modi government for taking foreign parliamentarians to Kashmir even as they prevented Indian politicians from travelling to the Valley. “This is an outright insult to India’s own Parliament and our democracy!” tweeted Congress member and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh.

Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill also raised the issue of the government inviting foreign parliamentarians, even though Kashmir is an internal issue of India.

On August 24, a delegation of opposition leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, was sent back from Srinagar airport when they attempted to reach their detained colleagues in Kashmir. More than a thousand Kashmiri politicians, including three former chief ministers, have been detained since August 4.

Communist party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had to move the Supreme Court to visit his party member Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, which gave him permission travel to the Valley.

“Then why were Indian political party leaders and MPs repeatedly prevented from exiting Srinagar airport? I was allowed to enter Srinagar only when the Supreme Court permitted over my habeas corpus petition. Even today Indian MPs are not allowed while Modi welcomes MEPs!,” Yechury posted on his twitter account.

BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy also expressed surprise at the visit, though he claimed that it was organised by MEA.“I am surprised that the Ministry of External Affairs has arranged for European Union MPs, in their private capacity [not EU’s official delegation], to visit Kashmir area of Jammu and Kashmir. This is a perversion of our national policy. I urge the government cancel this visit because it is immoral,” he tweeted.