'Making technical changes': MEA on question on Hamas in Lok Sabha after Meenakshi Lekhi denies approving response

The MEA has come up with a statement after MoS External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi denied that she had signed or approved an answer in Lok Sabha over Hamas being declared a terrorist organisation. While on the official Lok Sabha website, the answer is attributed to Lekhi, she claims she had not signed any such paper. This has led to speculations with UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asking if the minister was calling it a 'forged' response.

New Delhi:On the row over a question on Hamas in Lok Sabha, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday that a technical correction was being made mentioning V Muraleedharan’s name as the minister who replied to the question on the designation of the Palestinian militant Hamas.

The clarification from MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came hours after Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi said she did not approve any answer to the question. Both Lekhi and Muraleedharan are ministers of state in the MEA. “We have noted that Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 980 answered on December 8 needs a technical correction in terms of reflecting V Muraleedharan as the Minister of State replying to the Parliament question. This is being suitably undertaken,” Bagchi said.

Responding to a post on X, Lekhi on Saturday said she did not approve an answer to a question on Palestinian militant group Hamas being declared a terrorist organisation.

"You have been wrongly informed haven’t signed any such paper with this answer (sic)," she said in response to a post on X. The question was answered on Friday and it figures on the list of unstarred questions on the Lok Sabha website. When pointed out that the External Affairs Ministry website had the question mentioned in Lekhi's name, she said "Inquiry will reveal the culprit".

The unstarred question No. 980, titled "Declaration of Hamas as Terrorist Organisation", was put forth by Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran. "Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments," Lekhi had said in her reply to the question in Lok Sabha, a copy of which was accessed by ETV Bharat.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi on X posted: "Is she (Lekhi) then claiming it is a forged response, if yes this is a serious breach and violation of the rules that prevail. Would be grateful for a clarification from @MEAIndia".

Sudhakaran, who represents Kannur in the Lower House of Parliament, had asked whether the government has any proposal to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation in India, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons. He had also inquired the same about the government of Israel.

"Asking questions that were submitted through someone else led to the expulsion of an MP (Mahua Moitra) yesterday. Today Lekhi is denying that she responded to a PQ (Parliament Question). Shouldn't that be investigated too? Shouldn't it lead to seeking accountability, however innocuous the response from the Ministry of External Affairs is?" Chaturvedi commented after Congress leader Amitabh Dubey posted "Who logged in for you? on Lekhi's post on X.