Don’t poke nose into India’s affairs, Venkaiah warns West

“It has become a fashion among few countries to comment on the internal affairs of India,” he said, addressing the students of PSG College of Arts and Science here.

Stating that some Western countries are never tired of raking up the CAA and the Kashmir issue, the Vice President declared, “Don’t give us advice from there and say want to discuss our issues. What will be your reaction, if the Indian Parliament starts discussing Brexit and exit? We don’t do it. Rather, we discuss only our issues and are capable of deciding also.”

Further, Naidu said, “You manage your affairs and we are capable of managing our affairs.” The strong  comments from the Vice President come ahead of a two-day visit by US President Donald Trump, who had made repeated offers to mediate the Kashmir issue. Even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also raked up the Kashmir issue in the Pakistan Parliament.

In an indirect reference to Pakistan, Naidu said a neighbouring country funded, trained, aided and abetted terrorism using every available opportunity to rake up the Kashmir issue.

“Some people are trying to create a wrong impression about India. Kashmir is an integral part of India and the neighbour will not get even an inch of it,” he said.

Asking the student community to read and take well informed decisions, Naidu said the CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens. “It only pertains to refugees, who have been persecuted on religious grounds in the neighbouring countries,” he said, adding that Article 370 was only a temporary provision. Parliament has debated, discussed and abrogated the Act.”

Appealing to the citizens of the country to respect democratic values and stand to strengthen it, Naidu, in reference to the ongoing protests against the CAA, the NPR and the NRC, said that dissent was essential in a democracy, but not disintegration of the nation.