Govt has nothing to do with Ved Vaidik-Hafiz Saeed meeting, says Sushma Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reiterates in Lok Sabha that the NDA government has nothing to do with the meeting between Ved Vaidik and Hafiz Saeed. Swaraj also dubs the meeting as “unfortunate”.

Zee Media Bureau/Deepak Nagpal

Shashi Tharoor asks: What was the role of the Indian embassy? Was he there as an emissary? Nation is entitled to answers.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 12.45 pm amid continuing ruckus over Ved Pratap Vaidik`s meeting with Hafiz Saeed.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also tells Rajya Sabha that the government has no role in the controversial meeting. “This is a diplomatic misadventure of a private citizen. If there is any party that has a clear and strong line on the Kashmir issue that is my party,” says Arun Jaitley.

Uproar continues in Lok Sabha. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tells MPS not to show placards.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj makes a statement in the Lok Sabha, reiterates that the NDA government has nothing to do with the meeting between Ved Vaidik and Hafiz Saeed. Swaraj further dubs the accusation of government role in the meeting as not only untrue but also unfortunate.

Vaidik told Saeed that Kashmir should be separated from India, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad says in the Rajya Sabha.

Congress leader Kamal Nath condemns Ved Vaidik`s meeting with Hafiz Saeed, saying “the meeting shows the government has initiated a new track for dialogue with India`s most wanted terrorist”.

Lok Sabha adjourned for 20 minutes after uproar over Hafiz Saeed-Ved Vaidik meeting and attack on Gaza by Israel.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allows debate on the Ved Vaidik-Hafiz Saeed meeting row. The government will issue a statement after the debate.

The matter is ongoing in Parliament, Congress raised it. Mani Shankar Aiyar should be directly asked about this, says JD(U)`s Sharad Yadav.

RSS` MG Vaidya today reacted on the Ved Vaidik controversy, saying a journalist can put his thoughts across, but not everyone will accept it. “It would have been good if Ved Vaidik hadn`t met Hafiz Saeed. But he went as a journalist, it`s not against the nation,” Vaidya added.

Ved Vaidik is a free man and he went to Pakistan to interview Hafiz Saeed - Ram Jethmalani

If he went to Pakistan and spoke against India, then action should be taken against him, says Shiv Sena`s Sanjay Raut on Ved Vaidik.

The government has nothing to do with this, Home Minister Rajnath Singh tells Lok Sabha.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu says the government is ready for a discussion on the matter but won`t suspend Question Hour. He adds the government has nothing to do with the meeting between Hafiz Saeed and Ved Prakash Vaidik.

Opposition creates ruckus in the Lok Sabha demanding debate on the matter.

RSS leader Ram Madhav says Ved Vaidik has no connection with the organisation. “How can a man who travels with Salman Khurshid and Mani Shankar Aiyar be from the RSS?” he asks.

The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 12 noon amid continuing uproar over the issue of the controversial meeting between Hafiz Saeed and Ved Prakash Vaidik. The Upper House was initially adjourned for 15 minutes when it convened today.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday dubbed Vaidik an RSS man. “The man is an RSS man, that is a known fact. We are curious to know if the Indian embassy (in Pakistan) facilitated this meeting,” Rahul Gandhi told journalists this morning.

Journalist and Baba Ramdev associate Ved Prakash Vaidik landed in yet another controversy today. Vaidik, who hit the headlines over his meeting with 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, said that there is no harm if Kashmir is made an independent nation. Speaking to a Pakistan-based news channel, Vaidik said that both India and Pakistan should stop fighting over Kashmir and make it an independent nation.