Randeep Surjewala, the Congress media in-charge, has slammed Pakistan on social media and defended former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the latter's name and statement being included in a Pakistani petition to the United Nations over Jammu and Kashmir. Taking to Twitter, Surjewala stated that Rahul Gandhi was mischievously dragged into the matter by Pakistan to justify their 'pack of lies' and deliberate misinformation. Pakistan's petition was addressed to the United Nations over the abrogation of Article 370, following which J&K has been integrated with India like never before and its special category status revoked. 

Randeep Surjewala defends Rahul Gandhi

Surjewala begins by stating that Kashmir is and will always be an integral part of India, and that nobody should doubt this. He then calls Pakistan diabolical and accuses it of deception, and goes on to claim that Rahul Gandhi has been mischievously dragged into the matter. His clarification follows Congress leaders being rampantly cited in Pakistani media as well as by the country's ministers to propagate their narrative on Kashmir. 

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Surjewala's statement also contains a letter in which the Congress party's stance on the matter is made clear. The letter states: "Let the world be reminded again that every terrorist organization thrives in Pakistan under political and military patronage- be it Lakshar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Hizbul Mujahedeen, Al - Queda, or Taliban and its multiple offshoots." Surjewala urged Pakistan to answer questions on its support for terrorism, both internally to its people as also to international community, instead of raising the fake Kashmir bogey.

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Rahul Gandhi clarifies his own stance:

The Congress had jumped into action after Rahul Gandhi himself attempting a face-saver in light of Pakistan invoking his name in its petition to the United Nations. He took to Twitter and called out Pakistan for the first time, after weeks of hitting out at the Indian government over Article 370's abrogation:

While the parallels between the statements emerging from the Congress and Pakistan have been evident on multiple instances, two specific incidents emerged in the last week that took matters to another level - Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan repeated Rahul Gandhi's constant attacks at the RSS, and Rahul Gandhi's own attempt to fly to Srinagar was highlighted in Pakistan.

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The Pakistan petition to the UN:

Pakistan’s Human Rights minister Shireen Mazari wrote a petition to the UN on the abrogation of Article 370 that revoked special status to Jammu and Kashmir and also over its bifurcation into two union territories - J&K and Ladakh. In the petition, they have quoted Congress President Rahul Gandhi talking about people dying in Kashmir - a fake narrative Pakistan has gone hammer and tongs to spread. This comes as a continuation of Pakistan's attempt to internationalise Kashmir, which has been opposed at every turn, most recently by US President Donald Trump at the G-7 as he called it a bilateral matter that India and Pakistan must resolve. 

BJP slammed Rahul Gandhi:

Several leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked Rahul Gandhi after Pakistan wrote the petition to the UN. According to Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rahul Gandhi’s 'immaturity has become a problem for the Congress party'. BJP MP Giriraj Singh said that the Congress leader and his party has already done much damage to the country.

Also read: Pak's UNHRC Letter On Kashmir Cites Rahul's Fake News To Make Its Case