BJP sticks to guns, Jaitley says Congress must come out with detailed facts on Pakistani meeting
Jaitley
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged, while referring to the meeting, that Pakistan was meddling in the Gujarat elections
The BJP stuck to its stand Monday on the meeting between Congress leaders and Pakistani officials.
"Congress must come out with detailed facts what transpired in that meeting and what was the necessity of having it in present circumstances," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
"Yesterday they were in denial about it and today instead of accepting it as a misadventure, they try to blame those raising the issue," he added.
He also added that "Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position." That "They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan's role in instigating terrorism in India and continued to engage with them (Pak)."
He also added that "Former PM Manmohan Singh has issued a statement asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that (the) Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it."
Prime Minister Modi had referred to the meeting while campaigning in Gujarat. He said the meeting had been attended by Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and former Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
He said that the day after the meeting former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a "neech" person, and alleged that Pakistan was interfering in the Gujarat elections.
News reports however have since said that the dinner meeting, hosted by Aiyar, was also attended by, among other, a former Indian Army chief.
The former Army chief, Deepak Kapoor, has said on record that the only thing discussed at the dinner was India-Pak relations.
And that Gujarat was not brought up.