Notwithstanding the BJP urging him to call off his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif “over dead bodies,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday made it clear that the Sunday meeting between the two was on.
The Congress, for its part, lobbed the ball in the Prime Minister’s court saying the talks should be "left to his wisdom."Scheduled to meet Sharif in New York on September 29, Singh condemned the “provocative” terror strikes by the “enemies of peace,” but said such attacks will not succeed in derailing efforts to resolve all problems through a process of dialogue.
Ignoring the BJP’s appeal to call off the meeting, Singh in a statement en route to US from Frankfurt said: “The terrorist menace” continues to receive “encouragement and reinforcement” from Pakistan and India is firmly resolved to combat and defeat such forces.
“This is one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by the enemies of peace. Such attacks will not deter us and will not succeed in derailing our efforts to find a resolution to all problems through a process of dialogue,” he said.
“No words are strong enough to condemn the heinous terrorist attack on Hira Nagar police station and Army camp at Sambha in Jammu & Kashmir this morning,” Singh said.
Questioning Singh’s decision to go ahead with his meeting with Sharif despite Pakistan’s support to terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, BJP president Rajnath Singh said “pursuing a spineless diplomacy at this juncture will present India as a soft State which could be pushed around by any big or small country.
The PM and the UPA Government seem to be in a hurry to initiate dialogue with Pakistan."It also gives an impression as if he is motivated by certain conservative political motive instead of safeguarding our national interest. The BJP believes that there should be no talks with Pakistan unless the environment is conducive for dialogue."
His party colleague Sushma Swaraj tweeted: "Mr Prime Minister - No dialogue over dead bodies. Please cancel your meeting with Nawaz Sharif."
Rajnath also said: "The UPA Government has lost that diplomatic edge," adding Pakistan should be compelled to implement 'Islamabad Declaration' signed on January 6, 2004 before initiating any meaningful dialogue with it.
Rejecting the BJP's demand to call off the talks, the Congress claimed terror incidents in Jammu were an attempt to derail the peace process and wondered whether the saffron party also wanted the same.
Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar reminded the BJP of the lahore bus journey initiative taken by NDA's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and continuation of India-Pakistan talks after the Kargil War during that regime.
"We should have faith in the wisdom of the PM and External Affairs Minister. We should not be saying anything on it. Whatever is appropriate will be done. You should have patience. let the PM come back. let the PM say something. We will understand what his views are," Babbar and Digvijay Singh said.