National   

Jaswant: make India's stand clear

Special Correspondent

Cannot understand Centre's diffidence in refuting envoy's statement: Jaswant

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Friday after Bharatiya Janata Party members raised slogans and entered the well of the House.

They refused to listen to attempts by Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri to reply to the Leader of the Opposition, Jaswant Singh's demand for passing a resolution affirming that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India.

During his 15-minute speech, listened to in silence by the House, Mr. Singh said he was "compelled" to raise the issue, so that India made its stand "clear and explicit."

Claiming that he could not understand the Government's "diffidence" in refuting Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi's statement that the State was a part of the country, he said his party did not raise the issue earlier because it was unwise to do so during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit.

"It was equally unwise for foreign envoys to make statements on the eve of such an important visit."

No "robust commitment"

After accusing the Government of not displaying "robust commitment" on an issue of national importance, Mr. Singh turned his guns on the Left parties, accusing them of refusing to acknowledge that China was the aggressor country in 1962 and not making their stand on Arunachal Pradesh clear.

"BJP spreading untruths"

The decibel level started going up as soon as Mr. Yechury told the House that the CPI (M) stood by the fact that "Arunachal is an integral part of India and shall remain so." Charging the BJP with spreading "untruths" about the Indian Left's relationship with China, he said the CPI (M) had constantly taken the stand that the border dispute could be solved only by discussions and negotiations.

Opposing a Parliamentary resolution, he pointed out that India's integrity was defined by the Constitution. "We can't go around passing Parliamentary resolutions on every State. The case of Parliament having passed a resolution on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was different because it is controlled by Pakistan. That is not the case with Arunachal," he said between interruptions and slogan-shouting by BJP members.

Mr. Pachouri listed the Government's response, saying the previous Government had followed a similar policy with respect to China.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Land legislation to be amended
Women take to the streets against delay in tabling Bill
UPA, Left discuss pension Bill
Jaswant: make India's stand clear
Car deaths due to CO, says forensic report
MP's plea on wrong presumption dismissed
Pass it now: Brinda Karat
Notice to 19 States on security number plates
International cinema absent
How aches and pains hit the young
Court seeks report on plight of Kashmiri Pandits
Rajnath set to be re-elected
Junk DNA in Y-chromosome controls gene functions
BJP to move adjournment motion

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu