Samajwadi Party leader and member of Rajya Sabha Naresh Agarwal after provoking a controversy today with his comments on Kulbhushan Jadhav, wrote to the chairman of the Upper House Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the Vice-President of India, highlighting the lack of action by the Narendra Modi government to prevent ill-treatment of Jadhav. In the letter he wrote, “The ill-treatment meted out to Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails is known to all. In spite of knowing this Indian government has not taken stern steps, this is a very serious matter.” Earlier today, he sparked a controversy saying, “Agar unhone (Pakistan) Kulbhushan Jadhav ko aatankwadi apne desh mein mana hai, to wo uss hisaab se vyavhaar karenge; humare desh mein bhi aatankwadiyon ke saath aisa hi vyavhaar karna chahiye, kada vyavhar karna chahiye (If they (Pakistan) consider Kulbhushan Jadhav a terrorist in their country, then they will treat a terrorist as a terrorist. We should treat terrorists in our country the same way).”
#WATCH: “Agar unhone (Pakistan) #KulbhushanJadhav ko aatankwadi apne desh mein mana hai, to wo uss hisaab se vyavhaar karenge; humare desh mein bhi aatankwadiyon ke saath aisa hi vyavhaar karna chahiye, kada vyavhar karna chahiye” says Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal pic.twitter.com/owm0DJ8xGd
— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2017
His comment drew instant condemnation from various leaders. Union minister Hansraj Ahir said: “This is a very unfortunate statement. An Indian citizen speaks like this. He can protest against the government as he is in the Opposition but this is seen as a protest against the nation.” The ruling BJP’s GVL Narasimha Rao also ripped into Agarwal saying he had “betrayed national interest” The sharpest reaction came from senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy, who demanded parliamentary action against Agarwal. “Parliamentary Affairs Minister should introduce resolution seeking Naresh Agrawal’s apology to the house and deep regret. If he (Agarwal) refuses, we should move motion to examine whether his conduct is befitting that of an MP and therefore his membership should be terminated” Swamy told ANI.
Meanwhile, there has been an outcry over the treatment meted out to Jadhav’s mother and wife who reached Islamabad on Monday to meet Jadhav in the parliament. Shiv Sena, AIADMK, Congress, and Trinamool Congress were among the parties who joined the protests in the House. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has announced to make a statement on the issue in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday. She will first address the Rajya Sabha at 11 AM and then the Lok Sabha at 12 noon.
