New Delhi: Dismissing Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's claim that his government had all the
relevant answers to questions raised on the Indo-Pak joint
statement, BJP on Saturday said "unilateral explanations" by him
cannot dilute the "monumental lapse".
"The language of the Joint Statement between India and
Pakistan is clear. The language is loaded against India.
Unilateral explanations by either the Prime Minister or the
ruling party cannot dilute the monumental lapse," senior BJP
leader Arun Jaitley told a news agency.
Earlier in the day, Singh said his government has all
relevant answers on the Indo-Pak joint statement and these
will be spelt out by him in the scheduled discussion on the
issue in the Lok Sabha on July 29.
"We have all the relevant answers....I have made a
statement in Parliament and Parliament is again going to
discuss the issue. I will clarify," he said.
BJP and other political parties have criticised the
mention of Balochistan and delinking of terrorism for holding
of composite dialogue with Pakistan.
Singh did not elaborate on the issue, saying "pending a
debate in Parliament, it is inappropriate to answer any
specific questions on the issue."
The Joint Statement was issued after Singh's meeting with
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh
on July 16.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 20:55