PM's call a diversionary tactic, says Opposition

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN.4 Political parties today termed as a ``diversionary tactic'' the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee's statement that major powers should declare Pakistan a terrorist state. A widespread view was that it was an attempt to divert attention from the Government's ``bungling'' of the hijack crisis.

The Congress(I) and the Left found themselves on the same wavelength as they questioned the ``intentions'' behind Mr. Vajpayee's remarks. The Congress(I) wanted to know if the Government had done any spadework on the issue or was simply indulging in ``rhetoric''. If, indeed, the Government had been working on the lines suggested by the Prime Minister, who was it talking to?

The Left parties said that Mr.Vajpayee's call lacked conviction. The CPI(M) general secretary, Mr.Harkishan Singh Surjeet, said the statement was too vague to be taken seriously. He demanded that the Government spell out more clearly its line of action. ``Whom does he want to declare Pakistan a terrorist state,'' he asked. Mr.Surjeet said the fact that Pakistan had been promoting cross-border terrorism in India had been well-known to the United States and other Western powers, but nobody had done anything so far. What was the basis for the Prime Minister to think that they would do it now? In the hijack crisis, there had been no direct condemnation of Pakistan by the U.S., he said.

``The Prime Minister's statement is nothing but an attempt to get over the embarrassment on his government's handling of the hijack crisis'', the marxist leader maintained.

The CPI was equally sceptical saying that Mr. Vajpayee must explain what exactly the Government was doing to get Pakistan declared a terrorist state. ``Who would declare this? Let the Prime Minister tell us which are the countries that would do it'', said the party national secretary, Mr. D. Raja.

The Congress(I) spokesman, Mr. Ajit Jogi, said that while his party supported the Prime Minister's demand, it suspected that Mr. Vajpayee's statement was aimed at diverting the nation's attention from his Government's failures on the hijacking episode.

The Congress(I) would like to know what preparations it had made to achieve this objective, since the Prime Minister of a nation did not just express an opinion. Thus, the Congress(I) presumed that it was backed by some concrete preparations.

It was felt that the U.S. response, in particular, was important as it was a key player. It was up to the Government to take the initiative to create international opinion on this issue.

Mr. Jogi said that when the Congress(I) was in power, it had asked that a special session of the UN General Assembly be convened to discuss terrorism; the party had always maintained that Pakistan was encouraging terrorism in India and that there was enough evidence for this.

``Not long ago, the Prime Minister used to talk of the Lahore spirit. We are happy to note that he now realises the real intentions of Pakistan,'' said the AICC spokesman, adding that the Congress(I) had no political motive and only the nation's interest at heart.

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