India's anger over harassment of Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife during their recent visit to Pakistan found its voice in Parliament on Wednesday, with the Lok Sabha members slamming the neighbouring country in unison.
The Lok Sabha members cut across party lines to condemn the way Jadhav's wife Chetankul and mother Avanti were treated by the Pakistani authorities when they had gone there to meet the former Indian Navy officer.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assured the agitated members of the Lok Sabha that she would make a statement on the issue in the House on Thursday. She is also likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the same day.
Jadhav has been in the custody of Pakistan Army since March 2016. A military court set up by Pakistan Army accused him of being involved in espionage and subversive activities in the neighbouring country and awarded him death sentence on April 10 this year.
"We condemn the way Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife were ill-treated in Pakistan," Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said. He said the government must try to bring Jadhav back to India. "He should be brought back to the country and thus an example must be set. We are with you (the government) on this," added Kharge.
He also demanded a discussion on the issue in the Lok Sabha.
New Delhi on Tuesday alleged that Pakistan's security officials made Jadhav's mother and wife remove their 'mangal sutras', bangles, shoes and 'bindis' and change their attires before they were allowed to see him through a glass panel and talk to him through intercom - all set up in a shipping container in the parking lot of the foreign office.
Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant raised the issue and said, "Pakistan allowed Kulbhushan's wife and mother to meet him under pressure from the International Court of Justice, but no degree of condemnation is enough for the way they were ill-treated (during their visit to Islamabad)."
"Asking a Hindu woman to remove her 'mangal sutra' and her 'bindi' is deplorable. This act of Pakistan must be condemned from every corner of India," said Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy.
M Thambidurai of the AIADMK also condemned the way Kulbhushan's mother and wife were harassed by the Pakistan officials.
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