Meenakshi Lekhi is a Union Minister of State for Exterior Affairs and Tradition. (File)
New Delhi:
Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi as we speak clarified that she has not signed any paper with a query on the declaration of Hamas as a terrorist group.
The response from the Union Minister comes after a purported image of an ’unstarred query’ of declaring Hamas as a terrorist group is being circulated on social media together with a response from Ms Lekhi on the query.
The Minister of Exterior Affairs will make clear on Ms Lekhi’s tweet and stated there appears to be a technical error. Meenakshi Lekhi is a Union Minister of State for Exterior Affairs and Tradition and an MP from the New Delhi constituency.
”You’ve got been misinformed. I’ve not signed any paper with this query and this reply,” Ms Lekhi posted on X, tagging Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Prime Minister’s Workplace.
You’ve got been misinformed as I’ve not signed any paper with this query and this reply @DrSJaishankar@PMOIndiahttps://t.co/4xUWjROeNH
— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) December 8, 2023
In the meantime, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi responded to Ms Lekhi’s clarification and raised issues over her response and stated, ”Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying and disassociating a response attributed to her. She says she has no thought who drafted this as a response to a PQ since she did not signal it.”
Within the tweet under,
– Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying&disassociating to a response attributed to her
– says has no thought who drafted this as response to a PQ since she did not signal it
– is she then claiming it’s a cast response, if sure this can be a critical breach and violation of… pic.twitter.com/4mNscaFhpA— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) December 9, 2023
”Is she then claiming it’s a cast response, if sure this can be a critical breach and violation of the foundations that prevail. Would be glad about a clarification from her,” Ms Chaturvedi added.
In accordance with the purported PQ, the query was requested by Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, a Congress MP, looking for a response on whether or not the federal government of India has any proposal to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation and whether or not there was any demand raised by the federal government of Israel for a similar.
Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, has raised the problem of declaring Hamas a terrorist group, requesting the Centre to do the identical, however the authorities of India has not declared the Palestinian group a terror group.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have raised issues over the deteriorating scenario arising out of the Israel-Hamas battle and have repeatedly known as for ”restraint and de-escalation”.
”We stay involved on the deteriorating safety scenario and have known as for restraint, de-escalation and emphasised peaceable decision of the battle by means of dialogue and diplomacy,” S Jaishankar stated in a written reply to a query within the Lok Sabha yesterday.
”We welcome the humanitarian pauses and the discharge of hostages,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in UAE earlier this month and emphasised a ”two-state answer to the battle”.