By Ritika Jain
Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday denied signing a reply to a Parliament question on whether India plans to deem Hamas, an Islamist military organisation governing the Gaza strip, as a terror outfit in India and if Israel had made any such official demand to the government.
The Winter Session of the 17th Lok Sabha started on December 4 and is scheduled to conclude on December 22. The first week of Parliament saw the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra over a 'cash-for-query' scandal.
The document showed two questions posed by K. Sudhakaran, a Congress MP from Kerala, addressed to the Minister of External Affairs, namely, "Whether the Government has any proposal to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation in India, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor" and "whether the Government of Israel has raised any demand to the Government of India to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation, if so, the details thereof?"
The reply document uploaded on the official website of the Parliament bearing the name of Lekhi, the Minister of State for External Affairs with the answer as, "Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments".
Lekhi, while replying to a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) by a journalist who shared the document, denied signing the same and said, "You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer."
When pointed out by an X user that the document is available on the official website of the Parliament, Lekhi tweeted, "Inquiry will reveal the culprit"
Naor Gilon, Israel's Ambassador to India in a media interaction held in November said, "...time for India to officially designate Hamas as a terror organisation." While India described the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel as a "terror attack", Hamas is currently not included in the list of organisations deemed as terror outfits in India. India has also repeatedly maintained its stance on the two-state solution to resolve conflict between Israel and Palestine and further supported the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Gilon had also previously tweeted the same demand, when Hamas leader Khaled Mashal virtually addressed a pro-Palestine rally in Kerala on October 27 earlier this year, "It’s time to add #HamasISIS also to India’s terror list".
It is important to clarify that the department designated to include any organisation in the terror outfits list is the Home Ministry and not the Ministry of External Affairs. Lekhi is the Minister of State for External Affairs and not part of the Home Ministry.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted that Lekhi's denial is serious, and also raised questions on a breach, in case the document was forged.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Expels TMC MP Mahua Moitra In Cash-For-Query Scandal
What Is An Unstarred Question In The Parliament?
Questions are an important aspect of parliamentary procedure where members of both the houses – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – question the government on every aspect of its administration. Questions are asked on government policies in the national or international sphere.
The reply that Lekhi denied signing is also an unstarred question which means it does not need to be answered orally in the house and no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. In such cases, a written answer is considered sufficient and is deemed to have been laid in the house by the Minister to whom it is addressed.
