BJP slams govt in Parliament over Indo-Pak joint statement

New Delhi, July 17 (PTI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Friday slammed the Indian government in Parliament over the
outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, saying it
was a reversal of India's long-standing policy on terror, a
charge denied by the government.

BJP strongly criticised India's agreement to delink the
composite dialogue from action against terror by Pakistan.

The mention, in the Indo-Pak joint statement, that
"action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite
dialogue process and these should not be bracketed" has come
as a "surprise and also disappointment", Leader of Opposition
Arun Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian
Parliament) while raising the issue.

He said this was a "reversal of India's long-standing
policy" that there would be no dialogue as long as terrorism
emanating from Pakistani soil continues. Jaitley wanted to
know as to what "prompted" the change of stance.

In the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament),
Deputy Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj raised the matter,
terming it as a "serious situation".

Contending that the "nation is concerned since
yesterday", she said the government should tell the House as
to what happened during Singh's meeting with Gilani in
Sharm-el Sheikh in Egypt on the sidelines of the Non Aligned
Movement (NAM) Summit.

Denying BJP's charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister of
India Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government will make a
statement on the issue later in the day.

In Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan promised a similar action.
PTI