Quoted out of context, apologies if I've hurt Kashmiris' feelings: NITI Aayog member on 'dirty films' remark

A day after drawing controversy over his remark that the internet was being used just used to watch "dirty films" in Jammu and Kashmir, NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat on Sunday clarified that his statement was taken "out of context" and that he is not against the rights of the Kashmiris to have the access to internet.

Speaking to ANI, Saraswat said that he apologises if the 'misquotation' has hurt the feelings of the Kashmiris.

"I have been quoted out of context. If this misquotation has hurt the feelings of the people of Kashmir, I apologise and would not like them to carry this impression that I am against the rights of the Kashmiris to have internet access," Saraswat said.

Responding to a reporter's question during a program at Dhirubhai Institute of Information and Communication of Technology in Ahmedabad, Saraswat on Saturday had said that suspension of internet following government's move to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution has had no effect on the business in the Kashmir valley and that nothing except 'dirty films' were being watched by the people in the region.

"What difference does it make if there is no internet in Kashmir? What do you watch on the internet there? What e-tailing is happening there? Besides watching dirty films, you do nothing there," Saraswat had said.

In his clarification on the statement to ANI, Saraswat said, "The Institute had organized an interaction with the Press Club of the institute and myself. We were talking about many issues, including 5G. Instead of asking about the topic on which I had given a talk, they (the reporters) asked questions about the opinions on the performance of the Government and the economy."

"This was a personal discussion among the people who were there. So I strongly deny having said anything else," he added.