The Opposition parties on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attributing a wrong quote to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, saying it was picked from a satire website .
“PM Modi, while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, in Parliament claimed that statements made by two J&K ex-CMs were not acceptable. It has now been shown that these statements have been taken from satire website Faking News ,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote on Twitter.
The party’s Polit Bureau accused Mr. Modi of using false charges to frame Mr. Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti. “That the Modi government should take recourse to such false news for slapping the notorious Public Safety Act (PSA) belies the claims that everything is normal in J&K...,” it said.
On February 6, Mr. Modi said Mr. Abdullah had said dilution of Article 370 would cause a massive earthquake that would divide Kashmir from India .
Hours later, Mr. Abdullah and Ms. Mufti were booked under the PSA. Both have been under arrest since August 5 when the Rajya Sabha approved the withdrawal of the special status from Jammu and Kashmir.
Writing on Twitter, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien indirectly referred to the use of Faking News by Mr. Modi.
He said: “If an MP quotes #FakeNews to mislead #Parliament these options are available. Rule 222. Question of Privilege, Rule 380. Expunction Direction, 115. Write to Speaker Rule 376 Point of order for violation of Rule353 (defamatory) Rule 377 and raising a matter that’s not a point of order.”
He added, “With every passing day, one blow at a time, the Mo-Sh [Modi-Amit Shah] BJP government makes a mockery of Parliament.”
Published - February 08, 2020 01:10 am IST
