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Summit lacked 'structured agenda': Opposition

"You cannot base diplomacy on a blank paper. It was a diplomatic failure," Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said at the all party meeting called by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to discuss the Agra summit.

Opposition parties sought a number of clarifications from Vajpayee, including the 'real reason' for the failure of the summit and the lack of proper media management while projecting India's stand.

At the same time, they said that the dialogue process with Pakistan should continue.

The Shiv Sena, a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was the lone dissenter, saying it was opposed to any further talks until Pakistan stopped abetting cross-border terrorism.

"The summit did not have a structured agenda. This reinforces our earlier view that there was no homework or groundwork done for the summit," Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh told mediapersons after the meeting.

Singh said Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi had made a forceful plea for a 'structured agenda and sufficient preparation' for future summits and that 'appropriate lessons should be drawn from Agra'.

Leaders of the Left parties criticised the government for not making enough preparations and even suggested that the 'Indian delegation did not appear unified'.

They said a solution to the Kashmir issue could be found only through dialogue and that Vajpayee should continue the process when he visits Islamabad.

During the two-and-a-half hour meeting, the leaders said that the Agra summit should be seen as 'a lesson' for future talks.

Indo-Asian News Service

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