Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi today clarified that she has not signed any paper with a question on the declaration of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The response from the Union Minister comes after a purported picture of an ‘unstarred question’ of declaring Hamas as a terrorist organization is being circulated on social media along with a response from Ms Lekhi on the question.

The Minister of External Affairs will clarify on Ms Lekhi’s tweet and said there seems to be a technical error. Meenakshi Lekhi is a Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture and an MP from the New Delhi constituency.

“You have been misinformed. I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer,” Ms Lekhi posted on X, tagging External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Prime Minister’s Office.

You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia https://t.co/4xUWjROeNH

— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) December 8, 2023

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi responded to Ms Lekhi’s clarification and raised concerns over her response and said, “Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying and disassociating a response attributed to her. She says she has no idea who drafted this as a response to a PQ since she didn’t sign it.”

In the tweet below,
– Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying&disassociating to a response attributed to her
– says has no idea who drafted this as response to a PQ since she didn’t sign it
– is she then claiming it is a forged response, if yes this is a serious breach and violation of… pic.twitter.com/4mNscaFhpA

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) December 9, 2023

“Is she 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 her,” Ms Chaturvedi added.

According to the purported PQ, the question was asked by Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, a Congress MP, seeking a response on whether the government of India has any proposal to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation and whether there was any demand raised by the government of Israel for the same.

Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, has raised the issue of declaring Hamas a terrorist organization, requesting the Centre to do the same, but the government of India has not declared the Palestinian group a terror organization.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have raised concerns over the deteriorating situation arising out of the Israel-Hamas conflict and have repeatedly called for “restraint and de-escalation”.

“We remain concerned at the deteriorating security situation and have called for restraint, de-escalation and emphasised peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy,” S Jaishankar said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

“We welcome the humanitarian pauses and the release of hostages,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in UAE earlier this month and emphasized a “two-state solution to the conflict”.

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, who recently became a target of an unpleasant and communal exchange on the floor of the house, has been expelled from his party – Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. “Anti-party activity” has been spelled out as the reason for the action against him. “You were warned may times against statements or actions against the policies, ideology and discipline of the party. But, despite that you have continuously been acting against the party,” the BSP said in a statement.

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri had used communal slurs against Mr Ali in the Parliament after which he met many big Opposition leaders. He even held a one-man protest outside Parliament yesterday to demand justice for Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has been expelled from Lok Sabha.

He was seen with a placard hung around his neck which said “don’t turn (the) victim into (the) culprit”.

“Decorum in Parliament died in September… it was bombed when Ramesh Bidhuri made those comments. And now they are saying this? Today, (Mahatma) Gandhi and Ambedkar are crying,” a visibly upset Ali told news agency ANI.

A massive political row erupted over Mr Bidhuri’s remarks during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in September this year. The objectionable comments to target Mr Ali, who was accused by several BJP leaders of using derogatory words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provoke the South Delhi MP, led to a show-cause notice to Mr Bidhuri, known for his several controversial remarks.

The BJP MP, on Thursday, expressed regret for his objectionable remarks against Mr Ali in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, which heard both leaders separately.

The BSP statement on Mr Ali, a former JD(S) leader, said: “You were given the ticket on Deve Gowda’s insistence who had assured that you will always follow the party line. Only after this assurance you were given the BSP memebership. But you forgot the assurances given by you and indulged in anti-party activities.”

Danish Ali, who started his political journey with Janata Dal (Secular), joined the BSP in 2019 with the consent of JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Six days later, his name was announced from Amroha constituency for 2019 general elections. He won the seat by defeating Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP by a margin of nearly 63,000 votes.

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, who recently became a target of an unsavoury exchange on the floor of the house, has been suspended from his party – Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. “Anti-party activity” has been spelt out as the reason for the action against him. “You were warned many times against statements or actions against the policies, ideology and discipline of the party. But, despite that you have continuously been acting against the party,” the BSP said in a statement. A suspended MP is bound by the party whip.

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri had used communal slurs against Mr Ali in the Parliament after which he met many big Opposition leaders. He even held a one-man protest outside Parliament yesterday to demand justice for Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has been expelled from Lok Sabha.

The MP from Amroha was seen with a placard hung around his neck which said “don’t turn (the) victim into (the) culprit”.

“Decorum in Parliament died in September… it was bombed when Ramesh Bidhuri made those comments. And now they are saying this? Today, (Mahatma) Gandhi and Ambedkar are crying,” a visibly upset Ali told news agency ANI.

A massive political row erupted over Mr Bidhuri’s remarks during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in September this year. The objectionable comments to target Mr Ali, who was accused by several BJP leaders of using derogatory words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provoke the South Delhi MP, led to a show-cause notice to Mr Bidhuri, known for his several controversial remarks.

The BJP MP, on Thursday, expressed regret for his objectionable remarks against Mr Ali in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, which heard both leaders separately.

The BSP, which avoided to comment on the issue, today accused Mr Ali, a former JD(S) leader, of going against the party line: “You were given the ticket on Deve Gowda’s insistence who had assured that you will always follow the party line. Only after this assurance you were given the BSP memebership. But you forgot the assurances given by you and indulged in anti-party activities.”

Danish Ali, who started his political journey with Janata Dal (Secular), joined the BSP in 2019 with the consent of JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Six days later, his name was announced from Amroha constituency for 2019 general elections. He won the seat by defeating Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP by a margin of nearly 63,000 votes.