PM, Trump didn’t talk on Kashmir, Rajnath tells Lok Sabha

New Delhi: In a bid to clear air on the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Osaka, Japan, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in June, defence minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that external affairs minister S. Jaishankar was present when the two leaders had met and there was no discussion on the Kashmir issue at that meeting.

Mr Rajnath Singh asserted that there was no question of any third-party mediation on Kashmir as it was a matter of “self-respect of Indians”, and added that whenever the talks on Kashmir happen, they will also include the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Mr Singh’s response came after a demand from the Opposition for a reply from the Prime Minister on this issue. The Opposition leaders demanded that the PM should come to the House and explain what had taken place between him and Mr Trump.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, Mr Singh said: “As far as talks between our Prime Minister and the American President, Mr Trump, is concerned, it is true that in June there was a talk between the American President and our Prime Minister. But our foreign minister Shri (S.) Jaishankar, while giving his statement on this, has made it clear that there was no discussion on the issue of Kashmir with President Trump. I think there can be no authentic statement other than this because our foreign minister Jaishankarji was present at the time when Modiji and Mr Trump met,” Mr Singh said.

He added that there was no question of mediation on the Kashmir issue.

“We know this reality that it (mediation) will be against the intent of the Shimla Agreement, hence there is no meaning of accepting any mediation,” the minister said.

“I also want to make it clear that when we talk with Pakistan, we will not only talk about Kashmir but also about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” the minister said, amid thumping of tables from the treasury benches.

The Opposition, which had sought the PM’s response, had staged a walkout the moment the minister got up to speak. Prior to Mr Singh’s statement, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said they wanted to know what had transpired between Mr Modi and President Trump in Osaka. “The Prime Minister should have been here, that is why we have brought this adjournment motion so that we could attract his attention and hear from him... As per the Shimla Agreement, there was no scope for any third party interference on the issue of Kashmir... Now we see that the American President has said that Modiji has requested him to mediate on the issue of Kashmir. This could be wrong. This could be correct. But so far, neither Mr Trump has denied this nor Mr Modi. That is why we are concerned... Which is why it is important that we hear from the Prime Minister himself. We would like to hear it from the horse’s mouth,” Mr Chowdhury added.

Adding to this, DMK leader T.R. Baalu said it was strange that members of the Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha have repeatedly pleaded before the Speaker to request the PM to come to the House on a day when he was supposed to be present in the House due to Question Hour. “It is a very strange thing. Their request is to ask the Prime Minister to come to the House, that too on a day he is supposed to be in the House during Question Hour.”

However, when the defence minister rose to make a statement, the Congress, DMK, NCP, SP, BSP and other members staged a walkout in protest.

US President Donald Trump had on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Modi had asked him to play the role of a mediator on Kashmir. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar had said in Parliament on Tuesday that Mr Modi had made no such request to the US President.