NEW DELHI, Feb 27: India’s opposition parties paralysed parliament on Monday over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent commitment to explore the idea of self-rule and autonomy for Kashmir.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Dr Singh of pandering to US President George W. Bush by toeing an “anti-national” line on Kashmir.
“Why did the prime minister have to raise this just before (US President George) Bush’s visit?” asked Vijay Kumar Malhotra, BJP’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha. “Kashmir is an integral part of India. Whoever is talking about self-rule for Kashmir is anti-national.”
Mr Malhotra recalled that both houses of parliament had unanimously passed a resolution to this effect during the 1991-96 Narasimha Rao administration.
In a separate letter to the prime minister, the BJP critised President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s alleged failure to curb cross border terrorism.
“Despite the repeated assurances of President Musharraf, cross-border terrorism has not abated in the Jammu and Kashmir,” BJP president Rajnath Singh wrote to the prime minister.
“On the contrary, the infrastructure of terror in Pakistan is now being used by jihadi groups to also commit acts of terrorism in the rest of the country … The BJP would like you to impress upon the US that a war against terrorism cannot be successful if one of the so-called partners in this battle is insincere in its commitments,” Mr Singh told the prime minister.
He also urged the prime minister to discuss the alleged involvement of Pakistan and particularly its top scientist A.Q. Khan in establishing an undercover nuclear bazaar.
“Yet, Pakistan has steadfastly resisted international pressure to bring the rogue scientists to book. The BJP believes that Pakistan is the lynchpin of this illegal trade in nuclear technology. This has a bearing on India’s national security and we will urge you to impress upon the US the need to apply diplomatic pressure on Pakistan and its military-nuclear establishment,” the BJP president said.
In the Rajya Sabha, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said the prime minister should have rejected the idea of self rule and autonomy in his Saturday round-table with mostly India-backed Kashmiri leaders. He should have focused instead on the issue of ending cross-border terrorism, Dr Joshi said.
