39 Indians missing in Iraq killed: Informed Parliament before families as per protocol, says Sushma Swaraj
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday cited protocol to give an explanation for why she informed Parliament about the killings of 39 Indian voters in Iraq before letting their families know.
"Some kin of the victims have questioned as to why they were not told about the deaths before the Parliament. It is parliamentary procedure to first inform the House, so it was my duty," mentioned Swaraj, hours after she confirmed the deaths in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister also took exception to the Congress developing an uproar in the Lok Sabha, and accused it of "playing politics over death."
"In Rajya Sabha everyone listened to me speaking very patiently and in peace, everyone paid tribute. I thought same would happen in Lok Sabha. But unlike the past few days of ruckus, today Congress led the protests under Jyotiraditya Scindia ji. Very unfortunate," she mentioned.
"Today Congress indulged in very low level of politics. Probably Congress president thought how did no uproar happened in Rajya Sabha and decided to ask Scindia ji to lead protests in Lok Sabha. Playing politics on deaths."
The Union minister reiterated that "it would have been a sin had we handed over anybody's body claiming it to be those of our people, just for the sake of closing files."
"I am satisfied that I had stated that will declare them dead only on the day I have concrete evidence. I kept my word. I will get my closure when I hand over the mortal remains to their families and they receive proper last rites," she declared.
The EAM denied giving "false hopes to anyone" or maintaining "anyone in the dark."
Of the deceased, 27 hailed from Punjab, six from Bihar, four from Himachal Pradesh and two from West Bengal.
The our bodies of the deceased, she clarified, had not been came upon from mass graves, but from a mound.
The minister admitted that it was once unclear when the missing Indians have been killed.
Last 12 months, the family members of the then-missing voters were requested to go through DNA tests. Addressing the incident, Swaraj mentioned that the samples have been amassed to compare with the our bodies recovered from mass graves.
Earlier lately, Swaraj confirmed the deaths of the 39 missing Indians who have been abducted in 2014 via ISIS in Iraq and mentioned that the DNA samples of 38 folks have been matched, while the 39th had matched 70 in line with cent.
She also informed the House that the tale of Harjit Masih, who managed to escape from ISIS, was once a lie. Harjit had claimed the Indians were shot dead soon once they were kidnapped, but that was once not how it happened, mentioned the minister.
What happened was once that Harjit escaped with some Bangladeshi prisoners who were abducted at the side of the Indians. He had earlier falsely claimed that he was once shot in the leg and pretended to be dead.
(With inputs from companies)
"Some kin of the victims have questioned as to why they were not told about the deaths before the Parliament. It is parliamentary procedure to first inform the House, so it was my duty," mentioned Swaraj, hours after she confirmed the deaths in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister also took exception to the Congress developing an uproar in the Lok Sabha, and accused it of "playing politics over death."
"In Rajya Sabha everyone listened to me speaking very patiently and in peace, everyone paid tribute. I thought same would happen in Lok Sabha. But unlike the past few days of ruckus, today Congress led the protests under Jyotiraditya Scindia ji. Very unfortunate," she mentioned.
"Today Congress indulged in very low level of politics. Probably Congress president thought how did no uproar happened in Rajya Sabha and decided to ask Scindia ji to lead protests in Lok Sabha. Playing politics on deaths."
The Union minister reiterated that "it would have been a sin had we handed over anybody's body claiming it to be those of our people, just for the sake of closing files."
"I am satisfied that I had stated that will declare them dead only on the day I have concrete evidence. I kept my word. I will get my closure when I hand over the mortal remains to their families and they receive proper last rites," she declared.
The EAM denied giving "false hopes to anyone" or maintaining "anyone in the dark."
Of the deceased, 27 hailed from Punjab, six from Bihar, four from Himachal Pradesh and two from West Bengal.
The our bodies of the deceased, she clarified, had not been came upon from mass graves, but from a mound.
The minister admitted that it was once unclear when the missing Indians have been killed.
Last 12 months, the family members of the then-missing voters were requested to go through DNA tests. Addressing the incident, Swaraj mentioned that the samples have been amassed to compare with the our bodies recovered from mass graves.
Earlier lately, Swaraj confirmed the deaths of the 39 missing Indians who have been abducted in 2014 via ISIS in Iraq and mentioned that the DNA samples of 38 folks have been matched, while the 39th had matched 70 in line with cent.
She also informed the House that the tale of Harjit Masih, who managed to escape from ISIS, was once a lie. Harjit had claimed the Indians were shot dead soon once they were kidnapped, but that was once not how it happened, mentioned the minister.
What happened was once that Harjit escaped with some Bangladeshi prisoners who were abducted at the side of the Indians. He had earlier falsely claimed that he was once shot in the leg and pretended to be dead.
(With inputs from companies)
39 Indians missing in Iraq killed: Informed Parliament before families as per protocol, says Sushma Swaraj
![39 Indians missing in Iraq killed: Informed Parliament before families as per protocol, says Sushma Swaraj]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
March 20, 2018
Rating:
