UPA giving in to Pak on Kashmir

Lucknow: Former Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani on Sunday hit out at the Congress-led UPA Government for surreptitiously “planning a surrender” on Jammu and Kashmir and demanded that the Government should take Parliament in confidence before moving further on the issue with Pakistan.

“The proposal for a joint administration amounts to renouncing India’s sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir. The country cannot allow the UPA Government to disregard the unanimous resolution of Parliament with regard to the State,” Advani said in his address to the BJP’s national council meeting that concluded on Sunday at Sundar Singh Bhandari Parisar.

Advani, who touched upon a number of issues including all round failure of the UPA Government, dwelt at length on J&K and expressed apprehension that the Centre was heading for a compromise formula to restore pre-1953 status to the state.

“It is a serious matter. We have special attachment with Jammu and Kashmir…. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee gave his life to save Kashmir. If we do not wake up now, the Government at the Centre would mess up with the sovereignty of the State,” he said.

Referring to the statement of Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmood Khurshid Kasuri that he had received a “non-paper” from New Delhi with a solution to the dispute over Kashmir, Advani said: “There are talks of joint administration of the State and the restoration of pre-1953 status. We reject any such compromise on Kashmir.”

“When General Musharraf made his first public statement about a four-point formula for Kashmir, no one in our country took it seriously. But all those having anything to do with national security were shocked when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed Musharraf’s formula. The formula amounts to granting independence to the part of Kashmir that is with India,” Advani said.

He said the National Conference had passed a resolution seeking pre-1953 status to the State during the NDA regime, and the Centre outrightly rejected the demand. “Our Government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee turned down the resolution within minutes. Here is a Government that is not ready to share with the nation what the truth is in view of statements of General Musharraf and Kasuri on Kashmir,” he added.

“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru committed a historic blunder when he against the advice of Sardar Patel referred the issue Pakistan’s aggression on J&K to the UN Security Council. But even he did not hesitate one moment in taking stern action against the then chief minister the moment he came to the conclusion that plans were afoot to make the state independent,” Advani said.

Feeling sorry for Manmohan Singh, Advani said that he was a prime minister without any power. “Never in the past was the august post of Indian Prime Minister subjected to pass through so much of denigration and devaluation, as is happening today.”

“After serial blasts in Mumbai trains, Prime Minister called off all talks with Pakistan. In Havana, he made altogether a different statement, saying that Islamabad was also a victim of terror like New Delhi. It was baffling for all and sundry. It is a strange situation,” he said.