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Gujarat riots embarrass me
wherever I go, says Vajpayee

Devidas Gupta in New York

Deploring the recent communal riots in Gujarat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday admitted that wherever he went the killings in the state were mentioned.

"A situation should not be created at home which forces us to bow our heads in shame before others [abroad]," Vajpayee said while speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by Indian Ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh.

Seeing no justification for the Gujarat riots, Vajpayee said people of Gujarat would say riots were not a new phenomenon in the state, but "this is not good."

Vajpayee, who was cheered repeatedly by non-resident Indians present at the reception, said there was political stability in the country and that this had come about because his National Democratic Alliance government had the capability to carry along with it a majority of the people.

"In the changing world scenario, efforts should be made to put India on the top," he said, adding that the need of the hour was to unitedly work for the country's progress and face the challenges, particularly the menace of terrorism.

"What is needed is to understand the real face of terrorism," he said, adding the September 11 attack on New York's World Trade Centre had "touched everybody's heart."

In an apparent criticism of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Vajpayee said a remark on Thursday at the UN General Assembly session that it was necessary to go to the roots of terrorism had no meaning. "Whatever may be the reasons, these cannot justify the killing of innocent women and children," he said.

PTI

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