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Vajpayee condemns NATO war in Kosovo

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Reiterating India's stand on the NATO bombardment against Kosovo, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has called for the immediate withdrawal of troops, a halt on strikes and the matter to be taken up by the United Nations.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Sunday he said, "Since Yugoslavia was a part of the Non-Aligned Movement, I will take up the issue at that forum."

Asked to explain the delay in reacting to the bombings in Belgrade, he replied, "We never sat silent; the bombardment has already been condemned internationally."

He said he was already in touch with other NAM leaders on the subject.

When a scribe sought to draw a parallel between Kosovo and Kashmir, and compare Afghanistan with the troubled valley, Vajpayee retorted, "You cannot compare Kashmir with either of these two places. Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so; it is neither Kosovo nor Afghanistan."

When his attention was drawn to the Russian prime minister's observation about the "need for a strategic alliance among Russia, China and India", a non-committal Vajpayee paused before replying, "Well, there could be many possibilities," leaving much to be read between the lines.

The prime minister defended his government on the dismissal of naval chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. He claimed "absolute unanimity" among his allies on the issue.

Vajpayee also ruled out any action against Union Defence Minister George Fernandes, whom the naval chief accuses of corruption and anti-national activities.

Commenting on All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalitha's belligerent views on the Bhagwat issue, the prime minister said, "Ms Jayalalitha changed her stand. She too was well in line with the rest of the members of the (National) Co-ordination Committee."

Referring to the Opposition demand for setting up a joint parliamentary committee on the issue, he said, "Parliament is the highest body in any democracy. Therefore, the National Co-ordination Committee has unanimously resolved to hold a debate in the House. Let all facts be placed before Parliament, which may be left to decide whether it will be appropriate to constitute a joint parliamentary committee or not."

Vajpayee wondered why the Opposition was shying away from a debate on the issue. "By disallowing and disrupting the proceedings of Parliament, the Opposition is simply trying to prove that they would not be in a position to substantiate the wild charges they are levelling against the defence minister," he added.

When a reporter drew his attention to a similar demand on the Bofors issue by none other than his own party, which then was in the Opposition, the prime minister fumbled before explaining, "Well, Bofors is incomparable with this issue; there we had specific charges substantiated with sufficient evidence, while here the Opposition demand is based on vague charges."

According to Vajpayee, "The Opposition reaction essentially stemmed out of our success on three major issues -- Bihar over which the opposition is now echoing the government's line only, a balanced budget presented by us, and the Lahore accord."

Speaking about India's recent decision to relax visa regulations for Pakistanis, Vajpayee said, "Pakistan too has promptly reciprocated."

Vajpayee said he was confident that more such gestures would follow in the near future.

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