The Hindu : We are with you, what about your allies, asks Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 09, 2003

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We are with you, what about your allies, asks Sonia

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI May 8. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, may have won the support of the main Opposition party, the Congress, for his peace initiative with Pakistan. But support from the Congress came with a reminder.

According to the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, it was a vindication of her party's stand on the question of a dialogue with Pakistan.

Initiating the debate on Indo-Pakistan relations in the Lok Sabha today, Ms. Gandhi was both critical and constructive while referring to Mr. Vajpayee's initiative.

She offered her party's support to him, but did not miss the opportunity to take a dig at the BJP's allies.

``You have our support, but the real question is whether the Prime Minister has the support of his allies, the full backing of his Cabinet and party colleagues and his own ideological brotherhood,'' she said.

In a short and incisive speech, Ms. Gandhi said that despite being pilloried by its political opponents the Congress had always supported the idea of a dialogue with Pakistan.

``We have always said that the doors of diplomacy and the windows of dialogue must be kept open and active at all times.''

She also pointed out the ``contradictions and the inconsistency'' in the Prime Minister's statements.

``The Government's stand has vacillated from one extreme to another giving rise to the impression that it was responding to external pressures.''

``We were repeatedly told that there would be no resumption of dialogue till cross-border terrorism continues. Are we now to understand that the Government has obtained firm commitments from Pakistan that its sponsorship of cross-border terrorism will cease? Are we to understand that this remains the pre-condition for the resumption of dialogue?''

Ms. Gandhi contrasted the ``lack of vision and clarity'' in the Government policies vis-a-vis the ``farsighted'' manner in which previous Congress Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao had dealt with the issue.

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