Date:29/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/29/stories/2008122959071000.htm

National

J&K: a good pointer to future, says Yechury

Staff Reporter

Urges Centre not to rely solely on U.S. to put pressure on Pakistan

Sitaram Yechury

KOLKATA: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said here on Sunday that the Jammu and Kashmir polls results were a very good pointer to the future.

“It is a very good pointer to the future … that political parties which had maintained an all-India perspective in the elections like the Congress, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, have done well despite all efforts of communal polarisation,” he said.

The huge voter turnout, despite a malicious campaign by the communal forces, was a big trial for the Indian democracy and its unity and integrity.

Mr. Yechury was speaking at an interactive session on “Citizen’s Security in view of Terrorist’s Activities.”

“India should mobilise maximum international support with a view to invoking the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1373 against Pakistan to force that country to take action against terror perpetrators operating from its soil.”

While urging the Centre not to rely solely on the United States to put pressure on Pakistan, he pointed out that time and again it was proved that the U.S. was Pakistan’s closer ally than India.

Referring to the devastating impacts of the wars in Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, India should find a political solution to the issue rather than pursuing a military solution.

“Any attempt to combat terror in India by straitjacketing it into one single religion or region will be counter-productive and will only feed terrorism further.”

Asked what he would have done during the Mumbai attacks had he been the Prime Minister, he said he would have taken preventive measures, than the present reactive posture of the Centre, to ensure that such attacks did not take place.

“A clear inadequacy of our intelligence agencies was evident during the Mumbai attacks when they did not have any coordination between them,” he said.

On the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said the current objective was to develop a non-Congress and secular alternative against the communal forces.

“At the national level, we already have an understanding with the Telugu Desam Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Janata Dal (Secular). Though talks of joint campaign with the Bahujan Samaj Party did not materialise, further talks will be held with that party.”