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

Pawar's advice to Fernandes: work more, talk less

Former defence minister Sharad Pawar says a person handling the sensitive defence portfolio should "talk less and work more".

Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, who had worked for cordial relations with neighbours, should have owned responsibility for Defence Minister George Fernandes's statement on China and asked him to observe restraint, he told newsmen today.

He said there was no tension on the Sino-Indian border, as the two countries had agreed to withdraw troops from either side.

Describing the defence minister's remark on China as "irresponsible", Pawar, now leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said his utterances were totally not in conformity with the country's foreign policy vis-a-vis China. "Such utterances will only lead to tension between the two countries," he added.

If the defence minister's statement had been consistent with the country's foreign policy, the foreign ministry would not have come out with a clarification, he pointed out.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report