The Hindu : Front Page : Congress not supporting peace moves, says Vajpayee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 04, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Congress not supporting peace moves, says Vajpayee

By Y. Mallikarjun

NELLORE, APRIL 3. The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, criticised the Congress today for `not supporting' the peace moves initiated by his Government to improve ties with Pakistan, even as the entire world welcomed them.

Addressing a public meeting here, he said it was his Government's desire to have friendship with Pakistan. Referring to the ongoing cricket series between the two countries as a result of the peace initiative by the NDA Government, he said the matches were being played at places which earlier used to witness bomb blasts.

He sought to contrast the Congress' stand with the manner in which he as the Leader of the Opposition had congratulated the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, after the creation of Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister lauded the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and the people of Andhra Pradesh for their courageous fight against naxalites.

He appealed to the extremists to eschew violence, lay down arms and come to power by contesting elections if they had faith in democracy.

He said the NDA Government at the Centre and the TDP Government in Andhra Pradesh had changed the picture of the country and the State. The country was rapidly progressing, he said and claimed other countries were surprised by its development.

Interlinking of rivers

Emphasising the need for proper use of water, he said the Government had chalked out a plan to link all the major rivers from the Ganga to the Cauvery, to tackle droughts and floods. "We have land, forests, water, money and manpower," said the Prime Minister and pointed out that proper use would solve the problems the country faced.

Outlining various welfare measures taken by the Government, he said steps were taken to ensure remunerative prices to farmers. The NDA Government had promised one crore jobs five years ago and so far it had provided livelihood to 88 lakh people. It was unfortunate that the Congress was maintaining that the statistics were not correct. The Prime Minister had reminded the Congress that the statistics were provided by the Planning Commission and anybody could have access to them.

He said the Government had implemented the crop insurance scheme successfully in 22 States and the farmers had benefited to an extent of Rs. 2,000 crores under it. A kisan credit card scheme had also been introduced.

He said the number of public call offices in the country had gone up to 16 lakhs from the earlier 5 lakhs. Also there was no waiting list for telephone and gas connections. The Government, he said, had made primary education compulsory and was ready to extend assistance to the midday meals scheme. He stressed the need to contain the rate of infant mortality and said that there should not be any discrimination between a boy and a girl child.

Mr. Vajpayee outlined the steps taken for the uplift of tribals and Dalits. He assured Muslims that the BJP and TDP wanted to ensure their safety and said there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion.

The Prime Minister referred to the welfare schemes launched for improving the lot of the unorganised sector. He appreciated the full support extended by the TDP to the NDA Government in Parliament and regretted that it had not joined the coalition despite repeated requests.

The BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, urged the people to vote for the TDP-BJP combine as it was development-oriented. He was confident that the NDA Government would retain power.

The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, said Mr. Vajpayee had enhanced the prestige of the country in the comity of nations and disproved the claim of the Congress that only the latter was capable of providing a stable Government at the Centre. He appreciated the Centre for providing timely assistance to the State during natural calamities.

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