The BJP hit out at the Congress and demanded an explanation after a delegation of Indian Overseas Congress led by Kamal Dhaliwal met UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and discussed the "human rights situation in Kashmir." Corbyn's stand on Kashmir has not gone down well with the Modi-led BJP government. Corbyn took to Twitter and said, "A very productive meeting with UK representatives of Indian Congress Party where we discussed the human rights situation in Kashmir. There must be a de-escalation and an end to the cycle of violence and fear which has plagued the region for so long."
Terming it as "appalling", BJP lashed out at the Congress over its "shameful shenanigans" and demanded an explanation. The saffron party's foreign affairs department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale said, "This is Congress seeking advice from the UK Labour leader - they might as well go to their masters directly in Pakistan."
Dhaliwal wrote on Twitter, "Our meeting with @jeremycorbyn was held to condemn the Kashmir resolution passed by his party and to reiterate that J&K is an internal matter and outside intervention will not be accepted. @BJP4India's malicious statements are another attempt to distract people from their failures." The Congress also tweeted that the BJP has failed to answer questions on economic slowdown, unemployment and banking crisis and is resorting to spreading lies instead.
On September 26, Britain's opposition Labour Party had passed an emergency resolution on Kashmir at the party's annual conference in Brighton which calls for the entry of international observers into the region. The motion was a response to the decision by the Modi government to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories and withdraw the region's special status under Article 370. Even at that time, the BJP strongly condemned the move and termed it a blatant interference in India's internal matter. The UK government's official stance on Kashmir is that it remains a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.
Last month, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had quoted the Congress while launching an attack on New Delhi over the Kashmir issue. He had even mentioned the Congress party during his speech in the UN General Assembly in New York last month.
