No further talks with Pakistan now : Rajnath Singh

Patna, July 14: BJP President Rajnath Singh today demanded suspension of bilateral talks with Pakistan until the 'chaotic' situation there normalised and President Pervez Musharraf was able to 'completely wipe out' terrorism as promised.

Speaking to mediapersons on his arrival here on a two-day tour of Bihar, Mr Singh said the recent siege of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad had clearly shown how deep the extremist forces had penetrated into that country and ''controlled the minds'' of the people.

''Now it is the time for President Musharraf to handle the situation with an iron hand and prove to the world, including India, how sincere he is in rooting out the menace of terrorism from his country once and for all,'' Mr Singh said.

Suggesting immediate deployment of an International Watch Group in Pakistan to monitor the ground reality and the steps taken by the country in terms of anti-terrorist measures, the BJP chief said if necessary, a joint anti-terrorist movement could be launched with India.

Expressing serious concern over the recent development in Pakistan, Mr Singh underscored the need for the UPA government to maintain a close watch on the situation across the western border.

In this connection, he ruled out the possibility of any further talks with the military government.

Regarding normalisation of bilateral relations he said, ''The onus is now on the Musharraf government to prove beyond all doubts that they are serious in rooting out terrorism from the country and help India to achieve its goal in that direction too.'' Turning his attention towards the Bush administration, Mr Singh said the US should agree to India's proposal of maintaining a credible Nuclear Deterrent policy and must not do anything to derail the process started during the previous NDA rule.

''The US should not also undermine India's capability as a nuclear power and be allowed to maintain its autonomy,'' he pointed out.

Regarding the performance of the three year-long UPA rule at the Centre, Mr Singh felt that it had 'failed' in almost all departments leading to high inflation.

Despite having such a large number of economists within and outside the ministry, the government had failed to control inflation and rising cost of foodgrains and living in the country, Mr Singh said.

He alleged that 50,000 tonnes of paddy were exported to several countries last year despite a ban.

This led to a severe crisis within the country, Mr Singh pointed out and called for stricter government control in the PDS.

Later, the BJP chief, accompanied by party national spokesman and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP state president Radhamohan Singh and others left for Muzaffarpur to address a party worker's rally.

UNI

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