BJP executive to analyse Agra summit

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, JULY 19. The Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive committee meeting here later this month will conduct a post mortem on the Agra summit to try and snatch a political victory from what by all accounts was a bad show.

The damage-control game has already begun with Cabinet meetings, a meeting of the Council of Ministers, another discussion with the leaders of the National Democratic Alliance and today the all-party meeting. Over the next one week the strategy is expected to be finetuned.

The decision so far by party leaders is for the executive to adopt a resolution on India and its neighbours to make the BJP's point of view clear on the recent summit and the gory events in Nepal earlier. References may also be made to the recent important political events in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

It seems the general ``line'' to be taken is India's desire for peace and good relations with its neighbours, in the pursuit of which the Vajpayee Government extended an invitation to the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The three-day meet from July 27 (it was earlier scheduled to be held in Amritsar but was shifted here in view of the convenience of the Prime Minister) is also expected to adopt two other resolutions, one political and the other economic. Indications are that the Tamil Nadu drama will figure in the political resolution, and the UTI mess in the economic one.

Mr. Narendra Modi, party general secretary, today said the executive would also discuss the ground situation in States where Assembly or local body elections were due by March, 2002. This would mean Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, where Assembly elections are due, and Maharashtra and Delhi where panchayat and local body elections are coming up.

The economic resolution may try to address the expectations and concerns of different sections of society and the party resolution would be based on suggestions made by the executive committee members, Mr. Modi said.

But it will be the Agra summit which may hijack the executive committee's agenda, especially as the party had built up hopes that even a modestly positive outcome would be a big boost for it ahead of the Assembly elections. Relations with Pakistan concern Punjab, a border State, and Uttar Pradesh, where thousands of families have relatives living in Pakistan.

The effort now will be on using the Agra fiasco as a stick to beat Pakistan with (and thus ward off attacks from the Opposition) much as was done during the Kargil conflict.

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Section  : National
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