New Delhi, March 1 :     The Congress today demanded an explanation on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s ?provocative? statement that Vajpayee had acknowledged the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir. Senior Congress leaders Madhavrao Scindia, Ahmad Patel and Girija Vyas asked Vajpayee to clarify his position. ?The Prime Minister owes an explanation to the entire nation. The people of India have every right to be appalled by the view of Vajpayee on the issue of self-determination,? Scindia said. Party spokesperson Girija Vyas said the Congress was ?concerned and frightened? at Sharif?s ?sensitive? statement that when he told Vajpayee the Kashmiris ?should be given the right of self-determination?, the Indian Prime Minister responded positively, saying, ?it is right?. ?We demand a clarification. Vajpayee must explain whether Sharif?s observations are correct or not,? Vyas said. The spokesperson said both countries should observe ?utmost restraint? in making any observation on sensitive issues such as Jammu and Kashmir. Terming Vajpayee?s ?bus-diplomacy? a ?futile exercise?, Scindia said: ?If anyone has gained from the yatra, it is Pakistan?. ?The Indian Prime Minister seems to have acknowledged that Jammu and Kashmir should be part of the official agenda of bilateral talks,? he added. Scindia said the BJP-led coalition government should adhere to the principle of transparency. ?It is high time that these murky, behind-the-scene, clandestine deals at the international level cease and the Vajpayee government adheres to his much-declared principle of transparency,? the AICC general secretary said. Scindia said the episode puts a question mark on the veracity of foreign minister Jaswant Singh?s assertion in Lok Sabha that there is no secret deal with the United States on signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Scindia alleged the interests of the country on the social, economic and international fronts were being bartered away by the government in pursuit of its self-preservation. ?This is causing irreparable damage to the national fabric,? he said. AICC treasurer Ahmad Patel said Vajpayee should inform Parliament what transpired during the meeting between him and the Pakistan Prime Minister.