DNA: New Delhi: Sunday, June 10, 2018.
Equipped with
the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) reply, the Congress has asked Prime Minister
Narendra Modi either to substantiate the allegation made during Gujarat
election campaign that the Congress had held a meeting with Pakistani officials
and were trying to influence the polls, or apologise for it.
A Right to
Information (RTI) query sent to the PMO by the Congress sought to know on what
basis did PM Modi allege that top Congress leaders, including former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, had met with Pakistan's high commissioner and former
foreign minister, and that the foreign power had intervened in the Gujarat
elections.
Stating that
PM Modi's allegations were grave as they pertained to the country's
sovereignty, the RTI query sought to know if there was any evidence about the
alleged meeting and if a probe had been launched into the matter.In its reply,
the PMO said, "The information sought does not form part of the records
held by this office."
The PMO
added, "Inputs received from multiple channels, including formal and
informal, form the source of the PM's statements."
Asking PM
Modi to come clean on the issue, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said,
"PM Modi's allegations had shocked everyone then. Why did not he launch a
probe to unveil such a dangerous conspiracy. He should either tell us the
source of that critical information or apologise to the country for making
baseless allegations to influence public opinion."
During the
final phase of the campaign, PM Modi while addressing a rally in Palanpur had
raised questions about the alleged appeal by former director general (DG) of
Pakistan Army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, to make senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel
the chief minister of Gujarat.
Sucking
former PM Manmohan Singh into the controversy, PM Modi had alleged that
Pakistan's high commissioner and former foreign minister had attended a meeting
at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's house where former PM Manmohan Singh
was also present.
"On one
hand, Pakistan Army's former DG is interfering in Gujarat's election, on the
other, Pakistani people are holding a meeting at Aiyar's house. After that
meeting, people of Gujarat, backward communities, poor people and Modi were
insulted. Don't you think such events raise doubts?" PM Modi had said.
‘Sovereign
Issue’
RTI query to
PMO sought to know on what basis did Modi allege that top Cong leaders
including Manmohan Singh had met with Pak leaders.
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