Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari issues second rebuttal as BJP repeats 'Pak spy invite' charge
New Delhi, July 15
Former vice president Hamid Ansari on Friday issued a second rebuttal in two days as the ruling BJP pressed ahead with the charges that he, in 2009, shared the stage with Pakistan journalist Nusrat Mirza who, in turn, was spying for the ISI.
“The former Vice-President of India stands by his earlier statement that he never knew or invited Pakistan journalist Nusrat Mirza to any conference, including the 2010 conference mentioned by Nusrat Mirza or 2009 conference on terrorism or on any other occasion,” a statement from Ansari’s office said today.
Earlier on July 13 Ansari had dismissed BJP’s accusations as a litany of falsehoods.
Today BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia firing a fresh salvo at Ansari flagged a photograph showing the former VP sharing stage with Mirza during a 2009 conference on terrorism in India.
Earlier, Mirza had claimed in an interview in Pakistan that he had been to India on five occasions during the UPA rule and passed on sensitive information collected here to the ISI. Mirza had claimed he visited India on Ansari’s invitations and also met him, insinuations the former vice president denied earlier.
Addressing the press again today Bhatia said persons holding constitutional posts should act responsibly.
“The former VP should not have shared the stage with Mirza,” said the BJP spokesperson.
He also attacked the Congress-led UPA government saying intelligence clearance was required for holding programmes such as the one held in 2009 for inviting delegates.
“For a programme to be attended by a person holding constitutional post, protocol mandates that his office gathers information about participants to such a conference. With things being as they are, would it not be correct to believe that the Congress wanted a person from Pakistan to enter India and hurt India’s integrity?” Bhatia alleged.
AICC general secretary communication Jairam Ramesh reiterated that insinuations and innuendos by the BJP spokesperson against the Congress and former VP were both to be condemned in the strongest possible language.
“The facts regarding the International Conference of Jurists on International Terrorism and Human Rights held on December 11, 2010 in New Delhi are already in the public domain. The insinuations and innuendos of the spokesperson of the BJP are character assassination of the worst form,” he said.
