The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday over reports of Indian and Pakistani delegations comprising politicians along with retired military officials and diplomats taking part in ‘Track 2’ discussions.
The “Track Two” discussions were held on the sidelines of a regional security conference organized in Colombo this week by a London-based think tank, HT reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Indian delegation included Ram Madhav, a politician closely associated with the RSS who served as national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during 2014-2020 and currently heads the India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, General MM Naravane, who served as Indian Army chief during 2019-2022, and Ruchi Ghanashyam, a former Indian envoy to the UK who was among the first female diplomats to serve in the country. High Commission. People familiar with the developments in New Delhi, Colombo and Islamabad said that these events took place in Islamabad in the late 1990s.
Owaisi’s acute attack
AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi launched a sharp attack on what he described as the double standards surrounding Indian Muslims, calling them labels like “Pakistani” and “jihadist”.
He questions reports of Ram Madhav engaging in a dialogue with Pakistan, asking why such a dialogue is acceptable when done by someone associated with the RSS but could spark anger if done by others.
“…You call us Pakistanis, Jihadists and Bangladeshis. Then why is Ram Madhav engaging in back-channel diplomacy with Pakistan on behalf of the RSS?” Owaisi was heard saying in a video shared on his handle X.
“This is the same Pakistan from where the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack came and killed 26 Indians. This is the same Pakistan that, according to you, supported the Delhi riots in which about 50 people, both Hindus and Muslims, died. Tell us, TV channels, how is it acceptable for Ram Madhav to talk to Pakistan?” He said.
He categorically asserted that Indian Muslims had no loyalty to Pakistan, pointing out that their ancestors had chosen to remain in India during Partition.
Owaisi said: “What should we do with Pakistan? Our sheikhs chose not to migrate to Pakistan during Partition. They accepted India as their homeland, and we will, God willing, continue to live here. You may continue to oppress us, but remember that we will not leave this land. We were born here, we will live here with dignity, we will fight for our rights here, we will choose our leaders here, and on this very land we will secure all the rights that belong to us.”
“Those who abuse us – I hold a mirror up to you today. Now tell me, what do you have to say about this?” Owaisi added.
Meanwhile, Ram Madhav denied reports of Track II talks involving Indian and Pakistani delegations attending a conference in Colombo and his association with it, calling it a “completely wrong portrayal” of what transpired at the event.
A Times Of India report quoted Ram Madhav as saying, “It was not the Track Two Dialogue. It was the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual South Asia Dialogue, which was attended by scholars from India, Sri Lanka, the US, the UK, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even officials have attended this dialogue in the past. No Track Two has been held with many countries. I did not attend the two-day dialogue. I was invited to speak in a session, which I did and then left. A complete transformation into a non-story.”
The back-channel outreach in Colombo came a little more than a month after Dattatreya Hosabale, a senior RSS official, said in an interview in May that the government must work to protect India’s security and dignity in the face of the actions of Pakistan’s military and political establishment. “But at the same time, we should not close the doors,” he said. “We should always be ready to engage them in dialogue.”
