New Delhi, July 17: BJP on Friday slammed the government in Parliament over the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, saying it was a reversal of India’s long-standing policy on terror, a charge denied by the government.
BJP strongly criticised India’s agreement to delink the composite dialogue from action against terror by Pakistan.
The mention, in the Indo-Pak joint statement, that “action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed” has come as a “surprise and also disappointment”, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha while raising the issue.
He said this was a “reversal of India’s long-standing policy” that there would be no dialogue as long as terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil continues. Jaitley wanted to know as to what “prompted” the change of stance.
In the Lok Sabha, Deputy Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj raised the matter, terming it as a “serious situation”.
Contending that the “nation is concerned since yesterday”, she said the government should tell the House as to what happened during Singh’s meeting with Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh in Egypt on the sidelines of the NAM Summit. Swaraj also accused the Manmohan Singh government of kneeling down before Pakistan.
Voices of dissent emanated from the Left as well with CPM’s Sitaram Yechury blaming the government of having buckled under America’s pressure.
Denying BJP’s charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government will make a statement on the issue later in the day.
In Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan promised a similar action.
–Agencies–