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Vajpayee takes to electioneering, holds out talks offer to Pakistan

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee says India is ready for talks with Pakistan on all issues, but not on Kashmir alone.

Addressing a public meeting in Raipur, Vajpayee said the problem with Pakistan was that it wanted to hold talks on only one issue, which was not acceptable. While reiterating that India sought friendly relations with all its neighbours, he said we would like to strengthen ties with Pakistan also.

The prime minister said India was ready for talks with Pakistan at any place and at any time.

Vajpayee said foreign mercenaries were creating tension in the border areas.

He said Pakistan was not prepared to accept peaceful co-existence, but India would wait for it. India was strong enough to safeguard its security, he added.

Referring to the economic sanctions in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests in May, Vajpayee said fears were expressed from several quarters that the nation's development would come to a halt. However, during the last four months, India had shown that it could meet any such challenge arising out of the economic sanctions, he said.

The prime minister admitted that there was rise in the prices of certain commodities, but said the price rise was ''seasonal'' and attributed it to natural calamities.

Pointing out that Madhya Pradesh had to suffer losses due to natural calamities, he said the Centre had provided adequate assistance to the state and if further assistance was required the Centre would not back out.

Vajpayee said an attempt was made to isolate India in the wake of the nuclear blasts. Even at the SAARC summit at Colombo, an attempt was made to isolate India, but it did not succeed.

The prime minister pointed out that the non-aligned countries stood firm in their support to India. The developed countries, which imposed economic sanctions on India, had relaxed their sanctions and were now considering removing them, he said.

The prime minister criticised the Congress for raising the issue of price rise. He said if the Congress had built a strong economy in the last five decades, it could not become weak in four-and-half months .

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted upliftment of all sections of the society, including tribals and Dalits.

Pointing out that there were no riots in the country recently, the prime minister said those fanning riots would be dealt with strongly. He said the government and the people were alert to take on such elements.

UNI

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