The Hindu : Our stand on Iraq not ambivalent, says PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2003

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Our stand on Iraq not ambivalent, says PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 29. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today asserted that India had taken a clear stand on the Iraq war and that New Delhi neither wanted Baghdad to lose its freedom nor that the world order should collapse on account of it.

Responding to the Opposition charge that the Government's stand was "ambivalent", he said India was firm that both the United Nations and the Non-aligned Movement had a role to play in the resolution of the present Iraq crisis. The stand on Iraq could not be made into a question of contentious domestic politics he said and urged a consensus on foreign policy.

Mr. Vajpayee was speaking at a function organised to mark the completion of five years of the National Democratic Alliance Government, starting from his second tenure as Prime Minister in March 1998.

The Government conducted an independent foreign policy, keeping in mind the national interest and without any pressure. "Any government will conduct (its foreign policy) which protects the country pride and dignity," he said.

Mr. Vajpayee said it was the Congress that needed to make its position clear on several issues including on coalition.

The party, he suggested, should declare its stand on coalition formations as it had done in Maharashtra.

The Congress and others were painting a grim and depressing scenario, when in reality the real face of India was changing for the better, he said. Referring to the Congress slogan "Congress ka haath, garib ke saath", Mr. Vajpayee said tauntingly that one thought poverty had been eradicated (an apparent reference to Congress' `Garibi hatao' (eradicate poverty) slogan of the 1970s), "how did it resurface?"

Taking offence to charges of corruption and scams in the NDA regime, the Prime Minister said his Government had made all efforts to encourage clean people.

He added that the case of bribery registered against some DDA officials showed how his Government wanted to come down on corruption.

Terming the coalition government experience `sour and sweet', Mr. Vajpayee claimed that the Congress would never be able to replicate it.

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