New Delhi, July 4, 2026
Congress MP Tariq Anwar on Saturday recalled former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s remark regarding Pakistan that “You can change your friends, but not your neighbours” while defending Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, who was one of the 117 eminent signatories seeking restoration of dialogue between both nations.
Speaking to IANS, Anwar said: “Farooq Abdullah hails from Kashmir and has served as both Chief Minister and Union Minister; therefore, he is well-versed with the situation there. Pakistan is indeed a neighbouring country, and both nations would benefit from dialogue. One should always maintain good relations with neighbours, a sentiment also expressed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.”
Taking a similar stance, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that no one should object to India-Pakistan dialogue if the objective is to improve relations between the two neighbouring countries.
The Chief Minister noted that the conflict between India and Pakistan was not new and had continued for the past three to four decades.
“This conflict is 30 to 40 years old, and last year it intensified after the Pahalgam attack. Now, through a letter, the Prime Minister has been requested to improve relations between the two countries. No one should have any objection to that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Tariq Anwar backed party leader Digvijaya Singh’s allegations that valuable land near the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain had been allotted to an RSS-linked trust during the tenure of former Chief Minister and BJP leader Sunderlal Patwa.
He said: “Digvijaya Singh has served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh twice and also as an MP; he is a responsible individual. When he speaks, his words carry weight. There must be some basis or facts behind his statement, which is why he has leveled this allegation against the RSS.”
Further defending Singh’s remark that the Ram Mandir consecration took place without ‘kalash sthapna’, which led to such a controversy, he said: “Digvijaya Singh is a religious person who has faith in Lord Ram. He used to visit the place even when the temple was not built, so he has knowledge about these things.”
When asked that seers in Ayodhya have been backing Champat Rai and urging the Ram Temple Trust to reject his resignation, the Congress MP asserted: “Champat Rai cannot be innocent because he was primarily responsible (for the donations and offerings).”
Responding to questions about the letter written by the INDIA bloc to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant seeking the suspension of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, he said: “Given the situation in the country right now…the way the Election Commission is, in a way assisting the government and the BJP, so the opposition parties wrote the letter in a desperate attempt.”(Agency)
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