JOIN USCongress leader Manish Tewari has demanded that the Central government cancel the talks between National Security Advisors (NSA) of India and Pakistan scheduled to take place on August 23 and 24.
Interacting with reporters here on Wednesday, he said that Pakistan was “continuously violating” the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and there was also tension on the international border. Innocent civilians are being killed not only by terrorists but also in the shelling from the Pakistani side.
Even before the ink on the joint statement signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last month in Ufa, Russia, dried, the Pakistani NSA, Sartaj Aziz, “rubbished” it, Tewari claimed. The Congress leader also questioned the invitation to Kashmiri separatist leaders to meet Aziz during his visit to India. “When there is continuous provocation from the Pakistan side, why does India want to continue talks at the NSA level? What does India expect from the talk,” he demanded.
Tewari said the Tuesday midnight attack on the students of Film and Television Training Institute of India (FTII), Pune, was a “brutal crackdown”. “It is a harbinger of ‘Modi midnight known syndrome.’ It has clearly sent a message that if you oppose or disagree with the government, you will be tortured, jailed and arrested. It is also tantamount to squeezing of liberal space in the country. This fascist and Hitlerian tendency will increase further.” Students have been agitating against the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman, stating that he doesn’t have the credentials to occupy the post.