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Fernandes's views may affect national security: Gujral

Former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral has said the repeated diatribes of Union Defence Minister George Fernandes against China smacked of 'adventurism' and could dangerously affect national security.

In a statement, the former prime minister said he had reminded Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the second time in the recent weeks that Fernandes's utterances and chauvinistic statements were causing a fear psychosis among the country's neighbours at a time when the government was articulating an official policy to end confusion in foreign affairs.

Gujral, who handled the foreign affairs ministry, said such statements by ruling party members had caused concern among India's neighbours. Though the ministry of external affairs distanced itself from those 'ill-perceived' statements, such irresponsibility often left its footprints in the diplomatic corridors, he said.

He accused the government of speaking in varied voices and said the defence minister had seemingly assumed the role of the main policy-maker, ignoring the 'meekish protests' of the prime minister's office.

Dubbing Fernandes as a temperamental adventurist, Gujral said such a tendency could dangerously affect national security. ''There is hardly a day when the media is not encouraged to talk about 'weapons' and 'tests,' at a time when the nation has neither the intention nor any interest in changing the course of diplomacy that it has been following so far,'' he said.

The prime minister, he said, had assured Parliament that he would sustain the consensus-backed foreign policy. But his silence on this matter, either by purpose or design, was imparting a different signal to the country.

He said India had skilfully projected its national interests with due care, diligence and devotion ever since the end of the Cold war and this national consensus must not be damaged, he urged.

UNI

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