Vaidak-Saeed meeting begs clarification from govt: Tewari

Congress leader and former information and broadcast minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that Baba Ramdev's close aide Ved Pratap Vaidak's meeting with 26/11 terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed begs a clarification from the government.

"Vaidik is a gentleman of a certain standing. When such a man meets Hafiz Saeed, who has been accused of masterminding the 26/11 attack, it begs a clarification from the government and the person. Never ever has this happened in the past that people close to the government meet our enemies," said Tewari.

"It is incumbent upon the BJP and the government upon clarification. Vaidik's relationship with the BJP is well known. If such a man meets Saeed, then questions are bound to be raised. It is a very serious matter. BJP has anyway said that terrorism and talks cannot go hand in hand," he added.

Earlier today, several Congress leaders, including Digvijaya Singh, Anand Sharma and Ambika Soni, raised the issue and did not let the Question Hour begin, demanding explanation from the Modi government over Vaidik-Saeed meet in Lahore recently.

The Rajya Sabha was in a state of pandemonium with members cutting across party lines to register their strong protests over the meeting.

Vaidik reiterated by saying that if the Parliament takes up this issue, nothing will come out of it.