The Hindu : India not in favour of war: Sinha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 23, 2003

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India not in favour of war: Sinha

By Our New Delhi Bureau

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, at the all-party meeting on Iraq convened in New Delhi on Saturday. Others seen (from left) are: the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, and the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty .

NEW DELHI MARCH 22. The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, today said there was no "one view" about the choice of words in describing the American action against Iraq. Briefing newspersons after an all-party meeting convened to discuss the war in Iraq, he said official statements should not be "imposed upon" the Government.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said he saw no justification for the military action against Baghdad and maintained that there was no question of endorsing such action.

India, Mr. Sinha said, was not in favour of war and also not in favour of its continuation. He said it was not a "secret" who the Government was referring to when speaking of the failure of the P-5 to harmonise their positions in the U.N. Security Council.

Mr. Sinha said neither the U.S. nor other countries involved in the war had asked for the use of any facilities.

The BJP wanted the Iraq issue to be sorted out by the U.N. Security Council and maintained that it was for the Iraqis to decide on their leader. As for the absence of a unanimous resolution, the party spokesman, V K. Malhotra, said differences over semantics prevented its adoption.

The TDP parliamentary party leader, K. Yerran Naidu, said the U.S. attitude ignoring the U.N. was not correct and the Government should take steps in coordination with other countries to stop the war.

Also, the question of regime change should be left to the Iraqis.

P. H. Pandian (AIADMK) said there was no justification for the war, and no country could launch such an aggression without the U.N.'s mandate. On the controversy over the choice of words, he suggested that any "condemnation should not result in confrontation" between New Delhi and Washington while Mr. Naidu preferred that India communicate the nation's sentiment in diplomatic language.

Abani Roy (RSP) said his party was opposed to the unipolar system and unilateral action by the U.S. He also objected to the manner in which the U.S. had threatened to restructure the U.N. Further, he suggested that the hike in airfare be put on hold to help Indians seeking to return home.

While the BSP's Raashid Alvi said there could be no justification for the military action without U.N. approval, Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party said the turn of events posed a grave danger to the world.

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