BJP slams Congress foreign policy as ‘Chidambaram meets Taliban cleric in Goa’ - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday slammed UPA government over its foreign policy, saying India had no say in the ongoing negotiations on Afghanistan and pointing at the case of a Pakistani official who was allowed to hold talks with Kashmiri separatists here even though our position on the issue is non-negotiable.
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi alleged that India's foreign policy had stagnated under the UPA government.
While finance minister P Chidambaram met Taliban cleric Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef in Goa, in another instance, India was not given any role in the recent talks between US, UK, China and Pakistan on Afghanistan, Lekhi said in her criticism of UPA's foreign policy.
The latest controversy, Lekhi said, is the shocking instance of the government allowing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser Sartaj Aziz to hold talks with Hurriyat leaders in Delhi.
"What is the interest of the Congress in allowing such talks when Parliament has passed several resolutions affirming that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
"Its territorial integrity is non-negotiable, there cannot be any legitimate reason for Congress to allow Pakistanis to meddle in Kashmir," Lekhi said.
This was another example of the government's "disgraced" foreign policy where national interest was compromised to facilitate Pakistani interests in Kashmir, she charged.
"Be it Pakistan or China, Congress has risked India's territorial integrity on more than one occasion. UPA's extra rope to Pakistan and the false belief that Sharif will deliver seem artificial diplomatic gestures. We must work for India's national interests," Lekhi said.
She demanded an explanation from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on their position on these matters of foreign policy.
Azad Kashmir must be restored to India through an amicable settlement and representatives from the other Kashmir must get a voice in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly, Lekhi added.
"Congress's obsession in legitimizing and facilitating foreign interests must be condemned in the strongest possible words. India must uproot Congress in order to protect her national interests," Lekhi said.
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday slammed UPA government over its foreign policy, saying India had no say in the ongoing negotiations on Afghanistan and pointing at the case of a Pakistani official who was allowed to hold talks with Kashmiri separatists here even though our position on the issue is non-negotiable.
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi alleged that India's foreign policy had stagnated under the UPA government.
While finance minister P Chidambaram met Taliban cleric Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef in Goa, in another instance, India was not given any role in the recent talks between US, UK, China and Pakistan on Afghanistan, Lekhi said in her criticism of UPA's foreign policy.
The latest controversy, Lekhi said, is the shocking instance of the government allowing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser Sartaj Aziz to hold talks with Hurriyat leaders in Delhi.
"What is the interest of the Congress in allowing such talks when Parliament has passed several resolutions affirming that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
"Its territorial integrity is non-negotiable, there cannot be any legitimate reason for Congress to allow Pakistanis to meddle in Kashmir," Lekhi said.
This was another example of the government's "disgraced" foreign policy where national interest was compromised to facilitate Pakistani interests in Kashmir, she charged.
"Be it Pakistan or China, Congress has risked India's territorial integrity on more than one occasion. UPA's extra rope to Pakistan and the false belief that Sharif will deliver seem artificial diplomatic gestures. We must work for India's national interests," Lekhi said.
She demanded an explanation from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on their position on these matters of foreign policy.
Azad Kashmir must be restored to India through an amicable settlement and representatives from the other Kashmir must get a voice in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly, Lekhi added.
"Congress's obsession in legitimizing and facilitating foreign interests must be condemned in the strongest possible words. India must uproot Congress in order to protect her national interests," Lekhi said.
