The Hindu : Vajpayee speaks to Joshi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 21, 2003

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Vajpayee speaks to Joshi

New York Sept 20. The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will take a decision on Murli Manohar Joshi after "consultation with his colleagues". A spokesperson told reporters here that Mr. Vajpayee was in touch with Mr. Joshi.

The Prime Minister arrived here on a week-long visit during which he will address the United Nations General Assembly Yesterday, while in Istanbul, the Prime Minister had requested Mr. Joshi to reconsider his decision saying it was taken in haste without waiting for party's word. Mr. Vajpayee is scheduled to return to India on September 27.

In New Delhi, Mr. Joshi confirmed that he had received a telephone call from Mr. Vajpayee, but there was no word on what had transpired. ``It's between the Prime Minister and me,'' Dr Joshi was quoted as having remarked after the conversation. Dr. Joshi spent Saturday receiving groups of party workers, many of whom wanted him to withdraw the resignation. They raised slogans in his support but were urged to raise them in support of the Prime Minister. Dr. Joshi was expected to leave tonight for Allahabad, where he was to address a Dalit Sammelan tomorrow.

Mr. Vajpayee delayed his departure from Istanbul in order to keep himself updated on the verdict before his special flight took off for New York. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, himself is understood to have briefed the Prime Minister about aspects of the judgment.

Stand on Iraq

On another front, the Prime Minister would follow closely the developments on the Iraq issue before taking any decision on the basis of renewed nudging from the United States to send Indian troops to Iraq, official sources said.

Mr. Vajpayee will meet President George Bush on September 23 and address the U.N. General Assembly on September 25.

The U.S. President, who faces a deteriorating situation in Iraq, is expected once again to ask India to become part of the stabilising force in Iraq, where American casualties are growing. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, visited New Delhi recently to seek Indian assistance in this regard.

The sources said that with the fate of the U.S.-sponsored draft resolution on Iraq still uncertain, there was no question of India reviewing the July 14 decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) against sending troops to Iraq.

- PTI, UNI

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