Lucknow, Dec. 22: The Samajwadi party leader, Mohd Azam Khan, on Wednesday, stirred up a major controversy when he said that it was “debatable” whether Kashmir was a part of India or not.
Speaking at a political meeting in Badaun district, Mohd Azam Khan who recently rejoined the Samajwadi Party, said, “There is only one Muslim minister in the Union Cabinet — Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad — and that too, from Kashmir and not from India. There is still a controversy over whether Kashmir belongs to India or not.”
The Samajwadi party did not immediately react to the statement but a senior SP leader said that the views expressed by Mr Khan at the public meeting were not the views of the party.
Hours later, Mr Khan himself retracted his statement and blamed the media for distorting his words.
However, the damage was already done and the BJP and the Congress demanded action against the Samajwadi Party leader.