'Govt's deafening silence not in national interest'

New Delhi, May 19 : Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh today said India's ''deliberate and deafening silence'' on issues concerning India's neighbourhood was not in national interest and the stance had ''diminished'' the nation's stature in the eyes of the world.

Raising the issue of India's handling of its external relations with its neighbours and extended neighbourhood, especially regarding Nepal and Iran, Mr Singh said in his zero hour mentions that the government should ''correct'' its approach and speak up against things happenings in the region. India should stand up and make the world know its views on issues concerning the region, he added.

He said when the Arabs and other forces were increasingly turning against US for its anti-Islamic policies, ''silence and immobility'' of India was giving it an appearance of being subservient to the United States. ''India's policies cannot be paralysed for the sake of July 18 agreement and it will take decades to set things right for India,'' Mr Singh, a Foreign Minister in the previous NDA government cautioned.

Several UPA MPs also thumped their desks agreeing with him even as a visibly agitated Mr Singh remarked the ''policy of silence'' was giving an impression that Indian government had ''mortgaged its policy'' of late to the US. ''If it is not to the US, then to whom?'' he asked.

India's silence on immediate neighbours like Bangladesh and also the killings of hundreds of people in Southern Afghanistan are going to have a direct impact on Indian interests, he said.

He said Nepal had changed its constitution and it was no longer a 'Hindu Kingdom' but a secular nation. ''As an Indian I feel diminished,'' he said.

When the Left parties wanted to know why he should feel bad about it, Mr Singh said ''It is my view and if I didn't express it, I will be dishonest.'' He said it would be equally dishonest not to take note of India's handling of the issue concerning Iran with whom India had geographical and cultural ties for centuries. ''It is a betrayal of dictates of these ties, regional security and the concept of stability,'' he remarked.

The UPA government, he said seemed to have perfected the art of maintaining deliberate silence and even the ministers refused to acknowledge letters on policy matters.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachauri, intervened Mr Singh and said that the Prime Minister had sent him reply on several occasions.

However, Mr Singh said his letters to the concerned Ministers on foreign policy and Siachen issue were not even acknowledged. ''I am speaking with authority,'' he asserted.

Mr Sitaram Yechuri (CPI-M), supporting Mr Singh's views on Iran, said there were reports that India was considering alternative gas pipeline to the Iran-Pakistan-India line.

However about Nepal, Mr Yechuri said ''The Himalayan kingdom should be congratulated for becoming a secular country and it should not feel diminished

UNI