'Is Govt Internationalising Kashmir Issue?' JD(U) Questions Timing of EU Delegation's Visit to Valley

New Delhi: BJP ally JD(U) on Wednesday questioned the Union government's decision to allow a visit by a delegation of EU parliamentarians to Kashmir, wondering if it did not go contrary to India's policy against internationalising the issue and if it was an appropriate time when even Indian MPs were not able to visit the valley.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) spokesperson Pavan Varma, a former diplomat, articulated his party's position on the two-day visit to the Valley by the 23-member European Union delegation.

"There are several contradictions in the visit. On the one hand India is against internationalising the issue but on the other hand we have allowed a visit by these parliamentarians in their personal capacity. Was it an appropriate time? What is the criteria for selecting these members," he asked.

Varma said the government should take steps to normalise Kashmir at the earliest.

Speaking at the press conference, which was held after the party's national council ratified Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's re-election as its president for another term, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi underlined his party's differences with the BJP over a host of issues but added there is no row between the two Bihar allies.

Tyagi also spoke against demands made by several BJP leaders for a National Register of Citizens, as being done in Assam, in Bihar. "People make all kind of comments for being in news," he said and asserted that the Supreme Court-mandated NRC was meant only for Assam and not any other state.

Asked about Shiv Sena's differences with BJP over power-sharing arrangement in Maharashtra, he said the Sena, the Akali Dal and the JD(U) are the founding members of the BJP-led NDA and the saffron party's top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its president Amit Shah should lead an initiative to end all controversies.

Asked about the repeated attacks by some BJP leaders, including Union minister Giriraj Singh, at the Kumar-headed Bihar government, Tyagi said, "We don't give much importance to what other leaders say, as for us BJP means Modi, Shah, JP Nadda, Sushil Modi and its Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal".

The JD(U) may have ideological differences with the BJP but it fully supports the party on issues of national integration and backing the Army. "We also blindly support the government on its foreign policies," he added.