K Suresh, D Raja give adjournment motion notice in Parliament over Trump's 'mediation claim' on Kashmir issue

Congress MP K Suresh on Tuesday gave an Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha over the statement made by US President Donald Trump claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate on the issue of Kashmir.

Suresh said that the country has its own stand on the issue and would never allow any "third party" to mediate.

"Without taking into confidence the parliamentarians and the people of India, how can Narendra Modi arbitrarily ask Trump to mediate on the issue? This is a serious matter," the lawmaker told ANI.

The Congress leader requested the Prime Minister to come to the parliament and clarify whether the statement made by Trump was true or not.

He also accused the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of 'blindly' denying Trump's contentions.

"How can they deny the statement issued by Trump? The statement made by him is both important and crucial," said Suresh.

Similarly, CPI MP D Raja also gave a notice for suspension of business in the Rajya Sabha on the same issue.

Donald Trump stoked a controversy on Monday during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House, where he claimed that Modi had asked him to act as a mediator to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"So I was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject. And he actually said, would you actually like to be a mediator or arbitrator? I said, where? He said Kashmir because this has been going for many, many years. I was surprised at how long it has been going on," said Trump.

"It should be resolved, so he has to think the same thing, So maybe I will speak to him and we will see what we can do," he added.

Trump's comments have since been dismissed by all quarters, including India, which stated that no request as such was made by Prime Minister Modi.

"We have seen @POTUS's remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue. No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. It has been India's consistent position," tweeted MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

"...that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally," he said in a subsequent tweet.