New Delhi, May 17(KNS):India has categorically dismissed the recent remarks made by UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, regarding the hosting of a G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. 

The Indian government has described these statements as baseless, without merit, and lacking any factual basis. Moreover, India has criticized the UN Special Rapporteur for irresponsibly politicizing the issue at hand.

The Permanent Mission of India in Geneva has asserted that, as the current president of the G20, India possesses the prerogative to hold meetings in any part of the country. In response to Fernand de Varennes' statement, the Indian mission in Geneva tweeted, "We strongly reject the baseless and unwarranted allegations made by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes. As G20 president, it is India's right to host meetings in any region of the country."

Fernand de Varennes had alleged that the decision to hold a G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir while human rights violations persist is tantamount to supporting India's efforts to normalize the suppression of democratic and other rights for Kashmiri Muslims and minorities. The Indian mission strongly condemned these claims, stating that the UN Special Rapporteur was misusing his position and disseminating presumptive and prejudiced conclusions through social media, thereby violating the Code of Conduct for Special Rapporteurs.

The UN Special Rapporteur accused the Indian government of seeking to legitimize what some refer to as a military occupation by utilizing the G20 meeting to project international approval. However, India refuted these allegations, pointing out that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, had previously expressed concerns over the human rights situation in the Kashmir region during a recent session of the UN Human Rights Council.(KNS).