UNSC meeting on Kashmir a 'grave diplomatic failure' of govt: Cong

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday termed the UNSC discussing the Kashmir issue a "grave diplomatic failure" of the BJP government and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to "India's friends" in the United Nations to stall the meeting.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said it was a failure on the part of the government's foreign policy to allow internationalisation of the Kashmir issue in the UN.

He said the issue has come up at a time when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.

"This is a grave diplomatic failure of the government. In fact it is worse; it is a grave strategic failure of the government," he told reporters.

The Congress leader said this is a "non-negotiable and a non-discussable issue as far India is concerned" as this has been the position as a bedrock pillar of India's foreign policy for decades. "We are extremely disturbed, indeed shocked, at what we see is happening in the United Nations, supposedly, at 7.30 India time today in the evening. We view it as a matter of grave and deep concern to the entire nation, to every citizen and resident of India," he said.

"Please take up our questions and our objections in the right spirit as they are meant to awaken the government to the fact that you have to leave 'jingoism, jumlebaazi' and address the basic question - how have you allowed the internationalisation of the Kashmir issue in this brazen manner under the very nose of the government of India, its Foreign minister while visiting China," Singhvi said. "The nation needs an answer immediately and we need the prime minister to pick up the phone and stop this meeting at the United Nations today," he said. Singhvi said Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are an integral inalienable, untouchable part of India and no other body, group, organisation individual can assert to the contrary as far as India is concerned. "It is, therefore, shocking that roughly after 60 years, I think the last time it was in 1964, roughly after 55 or 60 years, for the first time this is sought to be internationalised at the United Nations Security Council today," he said.

The Congress leader claimed "the Chinese government got this meeting organised at the behest of Pakistan" when External Affairs Minister Jaishankar was in a three-day visit to Beijing till Monday for bilateral talks."Is this not a strategic failure for India apart from being a diplomatic faux-pas of the highest proportion. Why such a meeting should be held at all in the UN...," he said.