ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

BJP scotches reports of PM's ill-health

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's health was "very sound'', and there is no question of his stepping down on health grounds, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu said in New Delhi today.

Reacting sharply to the press reports on the PM's alleged "ill-health,," Naidu held some "vested interests" responsible for spreading such "baseless" rumours. Vajpayee's health was "very sound. So was the case with the government,'' he asserted.

The BJP leader described former prime minister Chandra Shekhar's statement that the Vajpayee government would fall within seven days provided the Congress takes an initiative, as "day-dreaming". Naidu observed that the Samajwadi Janata Party leader might be trying to "repay his gratitude" to the Congress for making him prime minister for a short while.

Naidu said there was "no threat to the Vajpayee government. There was no scope for an alternative. This government is stable,'' he asserted.

Meanwhile, Vajpayee said in Shimla today that there was no deployment of Prithvi missiles on the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan is making unnecessary noise in this regard, he said in response to a question at a press conference.

On the recent killing of 25 persons by militants in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, Vajpayee said the situation in the state was under constant review, and a high-level meeting would be held in Srinagar, which will to be attended by Home Minister L K Advani.

These were the months when militants, taking advantage of the melting of the snow, came in large numbers from across the border. Extra precaution was being taken, he said, while expressing hope that such incidents would not recur.

The prime minister also ruled out hot pursuit of the militants.

He renewed his offer for talks with Pakistan, saying all bilateral issues, including Kashmir, could be resolved under the Simla agreement.

''I call upon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief to embrace the spirit of the Simla agreement, step forward and join me in a fruitful and sustained dialogue on a whole array of bilateral issues, including Kashmir,'' he said.

Some US political circles feels that sanctions, imposed against India for its nuclear tests, could be counter-productive, the prime minister said.

Answering a question about Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh's visit to that country, he said he would not like to comment, ''as talks are continuing. But there is a feeling that the sanctions would be counter-productive''.

Earlier, addressing a public meeting at the Ridge Maidan in Shimla, he urged the countries that had imposed sanctions against India to reconsider their decision as they would also be adversely affected.

He called upon the people to ''stand united in overcoming this challenge.''

The prime minister said the Pokhran tests were conducted solely for security reasons. India was against the use of nuclear weapons and their stockpiling, and had been advocating for building a world free of nuclear weapons. ''But some countries did not heed us and continued to test the weapons.''

He also said talks with All India Anna DMK chief J Jayalalitha would be held on June 27.

Jayalalitha had recently charged the BJP with maintaining a "secret and hidden contact" with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report