US EDITION
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

BJP blames Pakistan, others blame PM

The Bharatiya Janata Party today condemned the Pakistani government for converting the entire Kashmir region into a war zone by sending intruders into Kargil while the Congress charged the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government with gross negligence in handling national security.

BJP general secretary Narendra Modi said the Indian Army would give the infiltrators a fitting reply.

On charges that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's bus diplomacy had failed, he said the government was making an honest effort to normalise relations with Pakistan, and claimed that the sudden intrusion confirmed that the terrorists had become panicky at this prospect.

But K Natwar Singh, chairman of the Congress external affairs cell, said the government had erred in handling the situation.

While Defence Minister George Fernandes had claimed that the problem would be tackled in 48 hours, the Prime Minister's Office admitted that even as the Lahore Declaration was under preparation, infiltration in the Kargil sector was going from bad to worse, he said.

Singh wanted to know whether the latest development was an 'achievement' of Vajpayee's bus diplomacy. What was the government doing when national security was in danger, he asked.

He said the air strikes were an admission of failure to resolve the crisis through diplomatic channels.

He disclosed that Fernandes had held discussions with Congress politicians Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh last evening on the developments in Kargil and indicated the possibility of launching air strikes.

The Janata Party has also blamed the BJP-led government for failing to defend the country's borders and asked Vajpayee and Fernandes to resign.

Blaming the Centre's early inaction for the current crisis, Janata Party general secretary Arvind Chaturvedi said Vajpayee's bus diplomacy had flopped and endangered the country's security.

"The violation of the Lahore Declaration by Pakistan has made us the laughing stock of the world. If there is any sense of accountability left in the PM, he should quit," he said.

Chaturvedi said the defence minister has proved to be a major security risk for the country as he is indulging in politicking and politicising the services, and should not be allowed to continue even for a day.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party also condemned the Pakistani "invasion" and promised the full co-operation of the people of the state in foiling Pakistan's evil designs.

Party chief Bhim Singh said the latest aggression was part of Pakistan's conspiracy to destabilise India.

He criticised the Centre and the prime minister for keeping the nation in the dark about the actual state of affairs and claimed that the Pakistani intruders had taken control of 75 square km of territory from Gurez to Kargil.

Calling the Lahore Declaration a fraud on the people of India, Bhim Singh said Vajpayee should disclose the terms and conditions agreed to by the two prime ministers in the so-called agreement.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report