Bangalore: BJP on Saturday said UPA government had
dealt a "huge blow" to the basic tenets of the country`s
foreign policy by delinking terror from talks with Pakistan
and asked it come out with a "contingency plan to undo the
damage."
Continuing to target the government on the joint
statement issued at Sharm-el Sheikh in Egypt, BJP President
Rajnath Singh said, "The UPA Government has dealt a huge blow
to the basic tenets of our national foreign policy by
delinking talks from terror and allowing Pakistan to accuse
India of interference in Balochistan."
"The UPA government should immediately stop shifting
goalposts and come up with a contingency plan to undo the
damage done to fundamentals of India`s diplomacy and foreign
policy," he told reporters here.
Asked whether references to Balochistan and delinking
terror from talks with Pakistan in the joint statement were
made under "international pressure", he said "this possibility
cannot be ruled out."
"Our government is under pressure from the US due to
Indo-US nuclear pact," he said to a pointed query whether the
pressure could be from the US.
He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s statement in
Parliament on the joint statement was not only "inadequate and
vague" but even failed to address key concerns expressed by
the BJP and other parties.
Asked to elaborate what contingency measures BJP would
suggest, Singh said "the government should decide it in
consultation with the opposition parties".
Singh said India should ask Pakistan to honour the
commitment made by the then President Pervez Musharraf on
January 6, 2004 that there will be no composite dialogue till
terrorism was wiped out.
He claimed that the Congress did not support the Prime
Minister on the joint statement but backed only the statement
made in Parliament.
Earlier, inaugurating a two-day executive committee
meeting of the party`s Karnataka unit, he asked the Government
not to initiate confidence building measures with Pakistan
until it stopped terrorism targeted at India from its soil.
Singh, who is chairing the meeting that will debate
organisational issues, formulation of a strategy for the
August 18 by-election in five assembly constituencies in
Karnataka and fissures in the one year-old B S Yeddyurappa
government, told partymen that the party will not deviate from
the path of its ideology.
"Win or loss, we will not deviate from our path. We will
not compromise on Hindutva and cultural identity," he
declared.
Attacking the UPA government for its "failure" to check
price rise and the hike in prices of petrol and diesel, Singh
demanded that the government develop a mechanism to regulate
prices of petroleum products so that the common man was not
hit hard.
"Due to confused policy of the UPA Government, our
economy is under pressure and our diplomacy, security and
sovereignty in a disarray," he charged.
Bureau Report
