Disapprove of Vaidik-Saeed meet, have sought report: Government

The government "disapproves" of the meeting between yoga guru Ramdev's aide Ved Pratap Vaidik and Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Tuesday.

"Government of India disapproves of the meeting between Ved Pratap Vaidik with Hafiz Saeed. I condemn this. "We have sought a full report from the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan. Once the report comes, we will share it with the house," she told the Rajya Sabha after the issue was intermittently mentioned during the day. It had caused a storm in the house on Monday.

She dismissed the allegations that he was an emissary of the government and said the government did not assist his visit.

Raising concerns over the meet, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said how was it possible that the Indian high vommission in Islamabad was not aware of the meeting.

"It is an matter of concern for national security," he said.

Azad also said that he had seen only one article from Vaidik on his Pakistan journey, and it did not mention his meeting with Saeed.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member P. Rajeev demanded the government should constitute an independent enquiry on the issue.