Opposition Congress today created uproar in Rajya Sabha over a reported meeting between a journalist considered close to yoga guru Ramdev and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, leading to two adjournments during the Question Hour.
Though the government clarified that it had nothing to do with it, Congress members sought a detailed statement on the purpose and motive behind the meeting.
Congress members said it was a matter of national interest and the journalist should have been arrested.
Digvijay Singh (Cong) raised the issue when the House met for the day, seeking to know from Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley if the meeting had government's sanction.
Chairman Hamid Ansari disallowed him from raising the issue, but Congress members persisted with the issue, forcing Ansari to adjourn the House for 15 minutes.
When the House reassembled, Congress members again raised the issue, with senior member Anand Sharma saying that Saeed is the most wanted terrorist not just in India but all over the world.
Government of India has nothing to do "directly, indirectly or even remotely" with any journalist meeting Saeed, Jaitley said.
"Government had not sanctioned permission to anyone for meeting him (Saeed)," he said.
Reports said Ved Pratap Vaidik, a freelance journalist, had met the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief in Lahore on July 2 while touring Pakistan along with a group of journalists and politicians invited by a peace research institute.
