Srinagar, July 31 (IANS) President of Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), Ghulam Nabi Azad, said on Thursday that the country must believe what Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and not what US President Donald Trump says.

“Mr. Trump says many things, but our elected PM clearly stated in Parliament that no world leader interfered in Operation Sindoor. So the chapter is closed. Action against terrorism is essential, and as Chief Minister, I always ensured there were no human rights violations,” claimed the former Chief Minister of J&K.

He further claimed that as the Chief Minister, he would always ask the security forces to carry out anti-terrorist operations, but ensure that no civilian is killed in a fake encounter.

“During my tenure, police picked up three persons from Srinagar and framed them as Pakistani terrorists before killing them. I got the graves opened and ordered a clean investigation after which 13 policemen, including an SSP and some inspectors, went to jail,” he also claimed.

Asked how he feels about the performance of Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister, Azad said, “He has been elected as Chief Minister, let him perform, I don’t want to interfere.”

He also recalled his days as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, reminiscing, “I was Parliamentary Affairs Minister three times. I have always believed that the Parliament must be allowed to function.”

He said leadership is about dialogue and not about ‘drama’. “When opposition leaders, like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, would stand to speak, we would not allow him to address the Parliament as young members of the parliament and in the ruling party.”

“Then Indira Gandhi called us to her room and said, you must not stop the Leader of the Opposition from speaking. You hear him, build points and make an argument that is what Parliament is all about,” he said.

Azad advised young parliamentarians that if they don’t want to allow the parliament to function, then there is no point in getting elected. “They could have raised opposition voices from their homes.”

“As a former parliamentarian, I want to tell you that when the opposition walks out of the house, it is actually supporting the ruling party by allowing them to pass laws in the absence of the opposition,” he said.

Azad said that Parliament is about discussions on national, international and local issues to reach an informed conclusion through dialogue.

–IANS

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