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BJP resents China's comment on Advani's J&K assignment

The Bharatiya Janata Party today warned China and Pakistan not to interfere in India's domestic affairs, saying that they had no business to comment on Home Minister L K Advani being given charge of Jammu and Kashmir affairs.

''We reiterate that we want cordial relations with both China and Pakistan. But these are possible if we understand each other correctly and do not interfere in each other's domestic issues,'' BJP vice-president K L Sharma asserted.

He said the BJP took strong exception to China's comment on Advani describing him as ''intransigent''. ''It is none of their business to comment like this, and we take strong exception to it.''

Sharma said it was too much on the part of any country to comment on who should hold or should not be given specific portfolios by the Indian prime minister. Such comments would not help improving relations.

Regarding nuclear tests, the party maintained that these were purely meant for security purposes and not intended at all for any other reasons.

The party also took to task CPI-M leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet for describing the language used by some leaders against Pakistan and China as "provocative".

Instead he should pay attention to the language used by the leaders of the two countries, Sharma advised.

While reassuring that India had a policy to have good neighbourly relations and would continue it, he urged China to reciprocate.

He hoped the prime ministers of India and Pakistan would meet at the SAARC summit in July at Colombo and have a dialogue, which was the only way to resolve issues.

The party also asked the Congress, CPI-M and other parties to clear their stand whether they stood by the resolution adopted unanimously by Parliament in regard to Kashmir. The resolution had called for effective steps to get Pak-Occupied Kashmir vacated.

UNI

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