PM vows to go ahead with Ramazan ceasefire initiative

PM vows to go ahead with Ramazan ceasefire initiative
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, NOV 23: Brushing aside protests by ally, Shiv Sena, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today vowed to go ahead with his Ramazan ceasefire initiative in Jammu and Kashmir, a decision he described as a "calculated risk".

"There is no going back on the ceasefire. We will make it a success," Vajpayee told the Rajya Sabha while Shiv Sena members earlier staged a walk out from the Lok Sabha protesting against the ceasefire and the killing of five truckers by militants in the state on Wednesday.

Admitting that the government had "taken a calculated risk," the Prime Minister said it was taken "after weighing all the pros and cons and after due consideration and preparedness."

Replying to a spate of queries from the members after Shiv Sena's Adhik Shirodkar demanded withdrawal of the ceasefire in the wake of the killings of the truckers, he said security forces had been asked to heighten vigil during the ceasefire duration.

Shiv Sena members also staged a sit-in protest outside Parliament against the ceasefire and the killings.

Barring Shiv Sena, the entire House supported the Prime Minister's new peace initiative saying the Government should take steps to build upon the ceasefire offer by opening a dialogue with groups in the valley.

The issue also rocked the Lok Sabha where Sena members were vociferous in pressing for their demand for withdrawal of the ceasefire and staged a protest walkout.

Vajpayee chided his coalition partner saying he did not not mind their "natural concern" over the killings, but said its reaction should be within limits dictated by national interest.

The Prime Minister said Government was sure that its effort for a peace had the backing of Parliament as well as the people. "If we pursue these efforts with firmness and at Times with flexibility we are sure to succeed".

Leader of the House and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh joined his Prime Minister in describing the ceasefire effort as a start of "caraven of peace, which would be taken to its logical conclusion" and asserted that the Government was committed to expand the constituency of peace.

Singh said, while ceasefire meant that security forces would not initiate action, the Government would be "unambiguous and unrelenting" in giving a robust challenge to cross-border and externally abetted terrorism.