Ved Pratap Vaidik meeting with Hafiz Saeed has nothing to do with the government: BJP

Union Broadcast and Information Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that Baba Ramdev's close aide Ved Pratap Vaidak's meeting with 26/11 terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has nothing to do with the government, and added that the whole issue was a politicisation of terrorism.

"Vaidik is a journalist who has nothing to do with the government. As far as our stand is concerned, it has always been that Hafiz Saeed is a terrorist. No one can related directly or indirectly link this meeting to the government. This is politicization of terrorism," said Javadekar. "The Congress raised the issue without giving any notice. They disturbed the question-answer. Arun Jaitley has already said that what a journalist does is not related to the government, and therefore, there is no change in our actions," he added.

Senior BJP leader MM Joshi said that he needed to know why the meeting took place before commenting. "I have no idea where the meeting took place. I don't even know who sent him. Let the congress raise questions, questions keep on rising. I need to know why he went there before I comment," said Joshi.

Earlier today, several Congress leaders, including Digvijaya Singh, Anand Sharma and Ambika Soni, raised the issue and did not let the Question Hour begin, demanding explanation from the Modi government over Vaidik-Saeed meet in Lahore recently. The Rajya Sabha was in a state of pandemonium with members cutting across party lines to register their strong protests over the meeting.

Vaidik reiterated by saying that if the Parliament takes up this issue, nothing will come out of it.

READ: I put my life in danger, I am no envoy: Ved Pratap Vaidk over meet with terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed
A photograph of the senior Journalist Ved Pratap Vaidk posed in a casual meeting with a terrorist mastermind Hafiz Saeed starked a controversial uproar in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Congress leader Manish Tewari asked the BJP government to clarify Ved Pratap Vaidk's meet with Hafiz Saeed. Known to be Ramadev Baba's close aide, the photograph with Vaidk and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed raised many questions as it was out on Sunday. Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, is accussed of plotting a series of strikes in India including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Tewari termed the meeting with Saeed as bizarre and said that it is intriguing that a senior journalist like Vaidik met India's mastermind behind 26/11 attacks. Read more