PM statement provokes walkout in Parliament

Unusually for a Friday afternoon because Parliament business in both Houses is limited to Private Members Bills, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a statement on his foreign visits — Yektarinburg, Italy and France and Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt) — to inform the Opposition about related developments. But angry over the alleged capitulation to Pakistan in summit-level talks between India and Pakistan, Opposition parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today walked out of the Lok Sabha.

The Opposition pilloried the government for yielding to Pakistan at the Indo-Pak summit meet on the sidelines of the NAM meeting Sharm-el-Sheikh, accusing it of betrayal. But the Congress and the government in unison dismissed the charge of dilution in India’s stand on resumption of talks.

The Left parties were divided over the decision of Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at their talks in Sharm-el-Sheikh to delink terror from future composite dialogue.

The CPI(M) said there was “new confusion” now after action on terror was delinked from dialogue, while the CPI supported the government saying there was no shift in India’s policy and that resumption of talks was important.

The main Opposition BJP slammed the government both inside and outside Parliament, with its leader L K Advani saying the government had “capitulated” and conceded too much and led a walkout of his party in the Lok Sabha.

Senior Congress leader and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified outside the Lok Sabha that there was “no dilution” in India’s position.

“Dialogue process may be stalled for many other reasons. But action against terrorists is independent of any dialogue process or not,” Mukherjee said. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said there was “no shift” in India’s stand.

The outcome of the Singh-Gilani meet drew mixed response in the Kashmir valley with mainstream parties welcoming it and separatists insisting that it was “inconclusive” without the participation of Kashmiris.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said dialogue was the only way forward to improve ties between the two neighbours. Omar’s father and Union minister Farooq Abdullah backed him, saying without talking to each other “we are not going to solve any problem”.

Tewari said the starting point of any dialogue between India and Pakistan would be after “forward movement” on terror.

Reacting to the BJP’s walkout in the Lok Sabha today, he said: “The PM unambiguously stated that the starting point is forward movement on terror and that forward movement is to prevent the use of Pakistan soil for launching terrorist operations and act against the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks.”

Tewari told reporters that “the Opposition was trying to fish in waters that was not troubled”.

“There is no shift in position or the goal post,” he added.

He also criticised the BJP, recalling that during the NDA rule, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had gone to Agra to hold talks with then Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff.