'Never invited or met him': Hamid Ansari on row over Pak journalist

New Delhi, July 13: Former Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday rejected a Pakistani journalist's claim that he visited India during the rule of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and passed on "sensitive" information to Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

This comes after journalist Nusrat Mirza claimed that he was invited to India at the time of the Vice Presidentship of Hamid Ansari who was the 12th Vice President of India between 2007 and 2017.

Ansari in a statement said "a litany of falsehood has been unleashed on me personally in sections of the media and by the official spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party". It is a known fact that invitation to foreign dignitaries by VP of India is on advice of Govt generally through MEA. I have neither invited nor received."

"The government of that time was aware of my work as the Ambassador of Iran. I am bound by a commitment to national security and avoid repercussions in such matters. The Government of India has all the information," he said.

"After my stint in Tehran, I was appointed India's Permanent Representative to the UNSC and my work was recognized abroad and in the country."

Earlier today, the BJP hit out at the former vice president and the Congress over the claims of the Pakistani journalist and sought their response.

Citing Mirza's purported claims, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia had asked former vice president Hamid Ansari and the Congress to come clean on the claims of a Pakistani journalist that he had visited India five times during UPA rule and passed on sensitive information collected here to his country's spy agency ISI.

"People of India are giving you so much respect and you are betraying the country. Isn't this treason? Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Hamid Ansari should come out and reply to this," Bhatia said at a press conference.