Indian Express

After Nitin Gadkari shocks India with UN-Pakistan demand, BJP beats hasty retreat

PTI Posted online: Wed Jan 16 2013, 20:48 hrs
New Delhi : Contradicting its President Nitin Gadkari, BJP today said there was no need to raise in the United Nations the issue of beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistan.

The demand was in synch with Pakistan's proposal to take the issue to the UN, however, this was not against India's official stance which was not to internationalise the issue.

"We should not approach anybody," said party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar when asked if the party felt the need to raise the matter before the United Nations.

"I expect the government of India to take this up in the United Nations. We should raise the issue in international platforms to isolate Pakistan...The Prime Minister should not keep quiet," BJP chief Nitin Gadkari had said in Mathura.

The issue was also raised by the National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon during his meeting with Leaders of the Opposition yesterday.

While Menon explained that government was against such a step as it would internationalise the issue, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley is understood to have told Menon that this was not the party's position and Gadkari's comments might have been misunderstood.

BJP today demanded government takes concrete "real action" to make Pakistan understand that it should not dare to commit such a "barbaric" act again.

"We have to expose Pakistan at every available opportunity," said Javadekar.

"It is not a matter of condemnation or verbal response. It needs a real response and this is the time when we can get a response whereby Pakistan will not indulge in such an act again," Javadekar said.

Upping the ante against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP said when the whole nation was outraged over the beheading incident, "even the verbal response from the Prime Minister came after a week. This is the weakness of the Prime Minister," the BJP spokesperson said.

Javadekar attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for not speaking out on the LoC issue, saying, "on which sensitive issue have they spoken?".

"They have not spoken on terrorism, price rise, terrorism across the border or the situation in Jammu and Kashmir", he claimed.

The BJP leader also charged the government with not having talking in one language on the issue and its ministers with taking different positions.

"Government is not speaking in one language. Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewari and others are speaking in different tones. The government has to be united in its approach, in its tenor, in its language and in its response," he said.

Javadekar said the "strong" action by India against Pakistan in the background of the recent beheading of an Indian soldier after crossing the Line of Control would also be supported by the world community.

"The case against Pakistan is very strong. The world will not object to a strong reaction from the government of India.

Because the way they have brutalised and even in the last 15 days they have crossed the LoC nine times and in the last one year more than 140 violations along the LoC. This is unacceptable," he said.

The BJP leader said that going by the state of affairs in Pakistan, this is the right time to strike and teach it a lesson.

"With the way Pakistan politics is now moving and the crisis in which Pakistan is, it is the right time to tell Pakistan that enough is enough. We will not take it anymore," he said.

The BJP leader also said Pakistan has to prove its credentials by taking action against 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, closing down terror camps on its soil and by taking credible action against all terrorists.

"But instead of this, Pakistan is rejecting all proof given by India," he said.

On whether the party supported continuation of cultural and bilateral ties with Pakistan, the BJP spokesperson said that "in abnormal situation, normal activities cannot continue".