NEW DELHI: Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has rejected allegations that he had invited a Pakistani journalist who claims to have provided sensitive information collected in India to Pakistani spy agency ISI.
Responding to allegations by BJP, Ansari denied having invited or met the journalist Nusrat Mirza.
BJP said that Mirza has claimed in an interview in Pakistan that Ansari had invited him five times to India during 2005-11 and shared extremely sensitive and classified information.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, referring to the journalist’s claims, accused Ansari of treason.
“People of India are giving you so much respect and you are betraying the country. Isn’t this treason? Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Hamid Ansari should come out and reply to this,” Bhatia said.
“He took the information from Ansari and it was used against India,” Bhatia alleged, adding that Mirza was also invited to speak at a seminar on the issue of terrorism.
In his rebuttal, Ansari said, “It is a known fact that invitations to foreign dignitaries by the Vice-President of India are on the advice of the government generally through the Ministry of External Affairs.”
In a statement, he also denied having invited or met Mirza.
Ex-VP & Congress leader Hamid Ansari issues a statement regarding Pak journalist Nusrat Mirza. “…falsehood unle… https://t.co/ImzMaIZHrD
— ANI (@ANI) 1657716431000
Bhatia also cited comments of a former operative of RAW, India’s external spy agency, to allege that Ansari had harmed the country’s interests when he was envoy to Iran.
The former vice president in his response said his work as ambassador to Iran was at all times within the knowledge of the government of the day.
“The Government of India has all the information and is the only authority to tell the truth. It is a matter of record that after my stint in Tehran, I was appointed India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. My work there has been acknowledged at home and abroad,” Ansari said.
(With PTI inputs)
