Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday said Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on a mission to become a new “self-appointed” Caliph.
Singhvi said Erdogan has always been “anti-India” and Turkey’s religious directorate under him is funding extremism in India. “Turkey is the biggest invisible threat for us,” he claimed, adding that Erdogan or any of his acquaintances “shouldn’t be trusted.”
‘Turkey is the biggest invisible threat for us’
#Erdogan is on a mission to become a new self appointed Caliph'. He has always been anti-India and Turkey's religious directorate under him is funding extremism in India.#Turkey is the biggest invisible threat for us. Erdogan or any of his acquanitances shouldn't be trusted.
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) August 17, 2020
His comments came in the wake of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who is in Turkey to shoot his upcoming film “Laal Singh Chaddha”, meeting First Lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan. However, later on, Monday, Singhvi clarified that his tweet had “nothing to do with Aamir” The senior lawyer said that he neither mentioned nor tagged Aamir in his earlier tweet and those are his personal views on Turkey.
‘Connecting unconnectibles!’
“Aamir is a free citizen, can meet whom and do what he likes. Connecting unconnectibles!” he added.
My tweet 924 am today had nothing to do with #Aamir. Neither mentioned nor tagged him! Its my indep view on #turkey. #Aamir is a free citizen can meet whom and do what he likes. Connecting unconnectibles!
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) August 17, 2020
According to the official website of Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the first lady received the actor at the presidential residence at the Huber Mansion in Istanbul on Saturday, India’s 74th Independence Day. First Lady Erdogan also tweeted about the meeting on her verified Twitter account.
Hint sinemasının dünyaca ünlü aktörü, yapımcı ve yönetmen @aamir_khan ile Huber Köşkü’nde keyifli bir sohbet gerçekleştirdik. Son filmi 'Laal Singh Chaddha'nın Hindistan'da yarıda kalan çekimlerini tamamlamak üzere Türkiye’yi tercih etmesinden büyük memnuniyet duydum. pic.twitter.com/uB3fU7udf6
— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) August 15, 2020
Photos of Aamir Khan meeting with First Lady Erdogan had gone viral. Several netizens questioned the meeting due to Turkey’s recent remarks on abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier this month, India rejected Turkey’s remarks on abrogation of Article 370 as “factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted” and asked it to refrain from interfering in matters internal to India.
India Slams Turkey
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Turkey should get a proper understanding of the ground situation. “It’s factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted. Would urge Government of Turkey to get a proper understanding of the ground situation and refrain from interfering in matters internal to India,” he said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman had said on August 5 that abrogation of the Article of 370 does not contribute to peace and stability in the region. The remarks were made on the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
