Be better prepared next time, says V.P. Singh

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 19. The former Prime Minister, Mr. V.P. Singh, today advised the Government to be better prepared when a delegation led by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, goes to Pakistan later this year to pick up the threads of the aborted Agra summit.

Preparatory meetings at the official and Ministerial levels should precede the next summit so that differences are narrowed down before Mr. Vajpayee and Gen. Pervez Musharraf sit down for their next one-to-one meeting. ``Some sorting out of the issues is required beforehand. There could even be a structured dialogue on all these issues between the sides,'' he told newsmen here today.

Calling the faux-pas by the Government delegation at the Agra summit a `cruel joke' on the people of India, Mr. Singh said it was improper on the part of Mr. Vajpayee to invite Gen. Parvez Musharraf without adequate preparation. The summit appeared to be hastily arranged in order to cover-up the failure of the Kashmir cease-fire gambit. ``Our experience in running the National Front and United Front Governments at the Centre is that a broad consensus on main issues is achieved before political leaders sit down for talks. If there is no breakthrough at official level talks, a summit is never arranged,'' he observed.

The former Prime Minister was of the opinion that the failure of the Agra Summit should not be viewed in isolation. The series of blunders committed by the NDA Government on Kashmir as well as other issues of national importance such as the Indian Airlines aircraft hijacking, Tehelka and the UTI affair had cast doubts on its ability to govern the country. ``One can differ with our perspective on Mandal or the Ayodhya dispute but you can't point out faux pas of this magnitude during our tenure. This Government should at least have the minimum ability to govern,'' the former Prime Minister, said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : BJP executive to analyse Agra summit
Next     : Militancy may escalate: Gujral