Cornered Government Condemns Vaidik-Hafiz Meet, Seeks Report

NEW DELHI: Facing opposition heat, a cornered government Tuesday denounced yoga guru Ramdev aide Ved Pratap Vaidik's meeting with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed and sought a report from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

The government's disapproval of the meeting with a man wanted in India came as an unrelenting opposition took on the Narendra Modi government in both houses of parliament, leading to repeated disruptions.

For the second consecutive day, Vaidik claimed he met Saeed -- the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack and one of three terrorists India freed in 1999 after an Indian Airlines planed was hijacked -- as a journalist.

Both Monday and till Tuesday afternoon, the government only distanced itself from the controversial meeting saying it had nothing to do with it. It came out with a strong condemnation Tuesday evening.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha: "The government totally disapproves of this meeting of Ved Pratap Vaidik... The government condemns this meeting with the Mumbai terror attack accused."

She said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had nothing to do with the meeting and had "nothing to hide".