Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday hit out at Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik for his u-turn on the invite to Rahul Gandhi to visit the state, saying that it was "never sincere" and a "propaganda tool".
Chidambaram's remarks came a day after Malik turned down the invitation for Rahul to visit J&K accusing him of politicising the issue by seeking to bring along a delegation of opposition leaders.
"J&K Governor's invitation to Rahul Gandhi was never a sincere invitation. It was a tool of propaganda," Chidambaram said.
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The former Home Minister said that Malik's claims that Rahul had put conditions for the Kashmir visit was "rubbish."
"Rahul Gandhi asked for freedom to meet everyone, including soldiers. How is that putting conditions," Chidambaram asked.
"Can a visitor not ask for freedom to meet different sections of the people and to enquire about the welfare of the soldiers," Chidambaram said.
The J&K Governor had invited Rahul to the Kashmir Valley to observe the ground situation.
The invite came in response to Rahul's comments on Saturday night about "reports of violence" from the state in protest against the government move to strip J&K of the special status it enjoyed under Article 370 and the decision to split the state into two union territories.
The Governor's office had issued a statement rebuking Rahul for spreading "fake news" regarding the situation in Kashmir.
