Javadekar Seeks Rahul's Apology Over Kashmir Remarks, Congress Calls Him 'Misinformation Minister'

The Congress on Wednesday hit back at Union Minister Prakash Javadekar for "twisting" statements of its former president Rahul Gandhi on Jammu and Kashmir, in which he had spoken about reports of violence in the Valley.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday hit back at Union Minister Prakash Javadekar for "twisting" statements of its former president Rahul Gandhi on Jammu and Kashmir, in which he had spoken about reports of violence in the Valley. Terming Javadekar, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, as "misinformation minister", the Congress claimed he was trying to politicise Gandhi's statement. "The BJP and its misinformation minister Prakash Javadekar is trying to politicise a stand unitedly taken for India, by Indians in favour of the entire country in front of the world community," Congress media in-charge Randeep Surjewala said. We think the BJP and its government need to introspect, he said. Earlier in the day, Javadekar demanded an apology from Gandhi and the main opposition party, while describing the former Congress chief's remarks on Kashmir as "most irresponsible politics" the country has witnessed. Gandhi's tweets on Wednesday, attacking Pakistan and asserting that Kashmir is India's internal issue, were made due to public anger over his earlier comments, he said. "He has made a complete U-turn not due to his own will but due to circumstances and public pressure," Javadekar said. The Congress leader's allegations about violence in Kashmir were wrong, he said, adding that it was made due to that party's "vote bank" politics. Gandhi has been attacking the government over the Kashmir situation and had said last week that the opposition and the press got a taste of the "draconian administration" and "brute force" unleashed on the people there when they tried to visit Srinagar. However, on Wednesday, he said in a tweet Kashmir is India's internal issue and slammed Pakistan for instigating and supporting violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Taking a dig, Javadekar asked if Gandhi's mindset has also changed due to change in his constituency.