PMO rejects Narendra Modi's claim on Sir Creek

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister's Office today rejected a claim by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that Sir Creek was being "handed over" to Pakistan, terming it as "mischievous" and questioned its timing.

Responding to a letter written by Modi to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, PMO said, "Allegation in the letter that Sir Creek is about to be given to Pakistan is untrue... The other conclusions drawn by Shri Modi on this alleged fact are also not real."

Raising question over timing of the letter, PMO said, "The contents of the letter and the timing of its release to the public raise questions about the motives behind its issue... The writing and release of this baseless letter by the CM of Gujarat in his "personal" capacity, a day before elections, is mischievous."

It said the Gujarat Chief Minister has written the letter without making any efforts to ascertain the facts from the Government of India.

The PMO pointed out that the discussions on Sir Creek has been going on since the time of BJP-led government.

"The (Sir Creek) discussions have been carried out by successive Governments of India since the dialogue process began in 1998... These discussions continued after Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to Lahore," it said.

Modi expressed apprehensions just ahead of Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik will be travelling here from December 14 to discuss a range of bilateral issues.

Modi, in his letter to the Prime Minister, had said Sir Creek, a marshy land in Gujarat, should "not be handed over to Pakistan" and talks on this issue should be stopped.