On Tuesday, a group of MPs from the European Union paid a visit to the Kashmir Valley, which is set to be demarcated into a Union Territory come Thursday. The Valley has faced a communication blackout after the union government removed the special status granted to the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370; several opposition leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have been under house arrest since August 5 and several national leaders who tried to visit the Valley have been blocked and sent back. Thus, this visit by EU leaders, the first foreign delegation to visit Kashmir since August 5, led to a huge outcry by the opposition.
The Kashmir visit
On Tuesday, a 23-member European Parliamentary delegation, comprising of leaders from the UK, Brussels, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and others visited the Kashmir Valley to get a “first-hand feel” of the ground situation after the abrogation of J&K's special status. Originally, 28 MPs were supposed to visit, but three MPs reportedly backed out amid backlash. Out of the 23, a majority of the leaders were from right-leaning political parties.
According to a report by The Quint, six French delegates all belong to the National Rally, a far-right nationalist party led by Marine Le Pen. The six Polish delegates are a part of Law and Justice, a right-wing Conservative party. Four of the five British MPs who visited belong to the far-right populist Brexit Party, the report adds. Three other MPs — from Italy, Czech Republic and Slovakia — are from centre-right parties and only two — one from the UK and one from Italy, are from centre-left parties.
The EU members interacted with the army, civil administration, members of civil society, traders, lawyers, artisans, tour and travel operators and some politicians. They were briefed by the Chief Secretary on why the blockade was necessary, the measures taken to alleviate the woes of the local populace under stress due to the dragnet and how these will be systematically removed. Members of civil society, traders, lawyers, artisans and people connected with the tourism industry called on the delegates during their stay in the hotel, according to reports.
The delegates were also seen on a 'Shikara' (boat) ride on the Dal lake.
The EU MP who backed out
Of the three MPs who were initially supposed to visit Kashmir was Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat and Member of the European Parliament. He, however, backed out after his request for ‘free access’ in the Valley was turned down.
“I am not prepared to take part in a PR stunt for the Modi government and pretend that all is well. It is very clear that democratic principles are being subverted in Kashmir, and the world needs to start taking notice,” he stated.
The UK politician who represents North West England in the European Parliament also stated that his invitation to visit Jammu and Kashmir was revoked after he asked to be allowed to interact with locals without any police or security personnel accompanying him.
“I fear this is not going to end well. Governments do not win the hearts and minds of people by taking away their freedoms and imposing military rule. The risk of a violent backlash is all too evident,” he added.
Why the visit was criticised
The visit has stirred a major controversy as Opposition parties have attacked the government, questioning why Indian parliamentarians are being denied permission to visit Kashmir when foreign MPs are allowed to go there. The Congress came down heavily on the Narendra Modi-led government, calling the visit a ‘diplomatic blunder.’ The party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that over the last three days, India witnessed an "immature, ill-advised and ill-conceived PR exercise" of the BJP government.
“The BJP government has insulted India's Parliament and our democratic spirit. When our own Members of Parliament and Leaders of Opposition visit Kashmir, they are detained and deported from the airport by the present BJP government,” he said.
Government rolling out the red carpet to EU MPs to briefing them and inviting them to visit Jammu and Kashmir is a disrespect to the sovereignty of the Indian Parliament and the violation of the privileges of Indian MPs.
— Anand Sharma (@AnandSharmaINC) October 28, 2019
This unofficial group is overwhelmingly from ultra-right wing pro-fascist parties having relations with BJP. This explains why our MPs aren’t allowed but Modi welcomes them. 3 ex-CMs and 1000s others are jailed & this group of MEPs is preferred over Indian political parties? https://t.co/fGYdCwj87k
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) October 28, 2019
After the visit concluded, a European MP who visited Kashmir himself opined that opposition leaders should also be allowed to visit the Valley. “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,” Nicolaus Fest, a European Union MP, told news agency ANI.
Nicolaus Fest, European Union MP, in Srinagar on his visit to Jammu & Kashmir: 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. pic.twitter.com/PJZ6Vjs8sv
— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2019
Meanwhile, the Congress has also attacked the BJP government for “rolling out the red carpet” for a private visit by EU MPs facilitated by an “unknown International Business Broker.”
Who invited the MPs to India?
At the centre of this visit is a European NGO, which is reportedly responsible for the EU members’ tour to Kashmir. It has now emerged that the invitation to the EU MPs were sent by a Madi Sharma, who runs the NGO called Women’s Economic and Social Think Tank (WESTT). A copy of her invitation was released by Labour Member of European Parliament Chris Davies and the same went viral on Twitter.
The letter stated that the EU MPs who came to India were promised “a VIP meeting” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wished to meet them as “influential decision-makers from the EU.” This visit has also been described as ‘unofficial,’ and the Ministry of External Affairs in India has clarified that the MEA is not involved and is not coordinating the visit.
On Twitter, Madi (Madhu) Sharma describes herself as ‘Social Capitalist, International Business Broker, Education Entrepreneur; Speaker.’
A write-up on the Women Economic Forum (WEF) website describes Madi Sharma as UK-based businesswoman "who currently runs the Madi Group, a group of private sector and not-for-profit companies with a philosophy to create innovative ideas tailored to local action which can achieve global impacts beneficial to society."
She "currently works in India and across Europe with businesses and governments... Additionally, Madi is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels, a Prime Minister's appointment, representing the Employer's Group," the write-up says.
(With IANS inputs)