EU lawmaker Nicolaus Fest says Indian Opposition leaders should be allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir, urges govt to address imbalance

Member of European Parliament (MEP) Nicolaus Fest criticised the Narendra Modi government for not allowing Opposition leaders to visit Jammu and Kashmir to assess the ground situation. In August, the government had sent back a delegation of Opposition leaders, including the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, from the Srinagar airport. “I think if you let in European Union parliamentarians, you should also let in Opposition politicians from India. So there is some kind of disbalance, the government should somehow address it,” Fest, who is a member of Alternative for Germany political party, told ANI.

Fest was among the 23 European Union lawmakers who visited Srinagar on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was the first foreign delegation to visit Jammu and Kashmir after the 5 August decision of the Modi government. The visit by the MEPs was heavily criticised by Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor. “MPs from Europe are welcome to go on a guided tour of Jammu & #Kashmir while Indian MPs are banned & denied entry. There is something very wrong with that,” Rahul tweeted.

Meanwhile, the EU members said terror was a universal problem and they support India in its efforts to eliminate it.