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Time now to focus on Kargil failures: Chandra Shekhar

Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar today said it was time to pin responsibility on those who failed to detect the Kargil intrusion and pushed the nation into a critical situation.

In a statement, Chandra Shekhar said though guns were now falling silent in the Kargil sector, a lot of disturbing questions were being raised from various quarters which did not come to the forefront while the country's brave soldiers were engaged in driving out the infiltrators and Pak army regulars from the area.

''The tragedy of Kargil calls for immediate answers to some of the obvious failures for which no excuse can be valid...Now is the time when the people have to be taken into confidence about the criminal failure of the intelligence system on this front,'' he said.

Criticising the proposal for setting up a commission of inquiry in this regard, Chandrashekhar said the government had as such failed to discharge its elementary duty. ''Why is a commission being considered when the government is still in the dark about this suicidal failure of such a serious magnitude,'' he said.

Calling Kargil a ''national tragedy'' Chandrashekhar said it would be too much to ''expect from the power seekers not to make it an electoral controversy.''

Questioning the handling of the Kargil problem, he said ''in the beginning, the defence minister talked about considering the idea to give safe passage to the intruders. It was ridiculed and rejected. Now the same is being implemented. Whatever may be the claim, in reality it is a ceasefire and safe passage.''

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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