I feel insulted and upset : Shobhaa De about Abdul Basit's statements on her article

NEW DELHI: Pakistan envoy to India Abdul Basit stated publicly he had influenced writer Shobhaa De to write the 2016 article where she "advocated plebiscite" in Kashmir. The columnist totally rubbished his claims.

Miss De said the only time she ever met Basit was during the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2019. She said, "The only time I met him, or rather he came and imposed himself and intruded into a small group was in January of this year at the Jaipur lit fest at a publishing party. He came and joined a small group, attempted a conversation, was snubbed and almost as good as asked to leave," said De. "In those three minutes, yes, he tried to bring in various issues but the only issue that actually chased him away was China. That was the first and last time I ever encountered this man," she added.

She added that Basit's statement was "dangerous, malicious, and unfair to anybody who believes in the truth", adding that she is "deeply insulted and upset that he could dare to say something like that about a person who has built her career on credibility and positive good journalism for over 40 years."