Lucknow : Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal courted controversy on Wednesday when he justified the treatment Pakistan meted out to Kulbhushan Jadhav and his family and said that if Jadhav was considered to be a terrorist by Pakistan, he would naturally be treated that way.
“A country’s policies should be left to the country. If they (Pakistan) consider Kulbhushan Jadhav to be a terrorist, they will treat him accordingly. Even we should treat terrorists strictly in our country. And I don’t understand why the media is focusing on Kulbhushan Jadhav. There are many Indians in Pakistani jails. I don’t understand why we don’t talk about all of them,” ANI quoted Agrawal as saying on Wednesday.
Agrawal’s remark instantly created a political backlash as BJP demanded an apology from him.
Perhaps realising the damage his remark had caused, Agrawal later said that he “meant to say something else.”
“We should treat Pakistani spies and terrorists in Indian jails the same way Indians in Pakistani jails are treated,” ANI further quoted him as saying.
Agrawal’s controversial remarks come on a day when the Kulbhushan Jadhav row created uproar in the Parliament.
During the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, members of various political parties, including the Congress, Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress and AIADMK, strongly protested the way Jadhav’s family members were treated by Pakistan authorities when they had gone there to meet Jadhav, who is languishing in a Pakistani prison.
Swaraj, who was present in the House, said a statement on the issue would be made on Thursday.
While strongly criticising the happenings, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that Jadhav should be brought back.
Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant also raised the issue and said India should not keep silent on the matter.
Describing Pakistan as “hypocritical”, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy said the incident should be criticised and demanded that Swaraj should speak on the issue.
Bureau Report
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