Sonia left red-faced after Adhir Chowdhury's LS remarks

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was left embarrassed after Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, suggested that the Kashmir issue was not a bilateral one between India and Pakistan anymore.

The debate over revoking Article 370 continued for the second day, this time in the Lok Sabha, when Chowdhury made a few points, claiming that Kashmir had blown up far beyond being an internal matter. He said, "You say it is an internal matter but I'd like to ask - since 1948, Kashmir is being monitored by the United Nations, is that an internal matter? We also signed the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, does that make it an internal matter? A few days back, Jaishankarji (External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar) told Pompeo to not interfere in the Kashmir issue, does that make it an internal matter?"

At this point, Sonia Gandhi, who was seated beside him, turned and gestured to someone at the back, clearly surprised by the comments, and looking horrified as she heard them.

She looked on in disgust as Chowdhury attempted to explain himself, claiming that he had been misunderstood and that all he wanted were answers from the government.

"All I did was seek the government's clarification... this government is now making this an issue. If you go back and see what I said, you will see that I was the one who asked about PoK as well," Chowdhury told NDTV.