ON BAORD PM’s SPECIAL AIRCRAFT, Oct 1:
Declaring that peace and tranquillity on the LoC is the “first step” towards normalising ties with Pakistan, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today said it will take time to determine whether this is being implemented on the ground.
“It (the relationship with Pakistan) is at a stage in a sense that we are moving forward towards normalisation of our relations and the first step has to be peace and tranquillity on the Line of Control,” Singh said while talking to reporters on board his special aircraft while returning from the US where he met his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
Singh noted that he and Sharif had agreed that the Directors General of Military Operations of the two sides will meet and work out arrangements for ensuring peace on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It will take time to find out what can be done and what is agreed upon is implemented. But these are all steps towards normalisation of the relationship,” he added.
He was responding when he was asked whether he felt things were still not at the stage where there can be “business as usual” with Pakistan, as he had said after the beheading of an Indian soldier on the LoC by the Pakistan Army.
Singh said he had useful talks with Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
During the meeting, Singh clearly told Sharif that ending violations of the ceasefire on the LoC is a pre-condition for taking the relationship forward. He also raised the issue of continued terrorism emanating from Pakistan during the hour-long meeting.
Singh was asked whether, after meeting Sharif, he felt the Pakistan Prime Minister was the “master of his own destiny” considering the enormous powers of the Army there. Singh said he “hopes” and “prays” that Sharif succeeds in implementing the “right things” he has said about India-Pakistan ties.
“I very much hope that Nawaz Sharif succeeds. He is the democratically elected Prime Minister of a neighbouring country and he has said all the right things about Indo-Pakistan relations. So I sincerely hope and pray that he does succeed in carrying out his mission,” he said.
When he was asked about the “dehati aurat” (village woman) comments attributed to Sharif, Singh said the Pakistan Prime Minister has denied making such remarks.
Singh ruled out his resignation over Rahul Gandhi’s carping criticism on the ordinance to protect convicted lawmakers but appeared piqued over the manner in which it was done.
Singh also indicated that the Government could have a rethink on the ordinance when he said that he would discuss the issue with Rahul, who wanted its withdrawal. “It is always possible to change one’s mind.”
“There is no question of resigning,” Singh said, rejecting Opposition demands and taunts that he give up the post after Rahul’s attack that the ordinance was “complete nonsense” which should be torn up and thrown away.
Though he maintained that he does not get “upset easily”, the Prime Minister said he would try to find out the reason why Rahul made a public statement and “why it had to be done that way”.
“I am not the master of what people say. It has happened and as I said when I go back I will try to find the reason why it happened that way and how do we handle it,” he said.
Rahul is meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow morning. The Congress Core Group is also scheduled to meet tomorrow and will be followed by Singh having a meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee, who is leaving on a foreign tour in the afternoon. The Union Cabinet is also scheduled to meet during the day.
The Prime Minister’s assertion ruling out his resignation comes in the wake of demands and taunts from opposition parties that the blunt attack by Rahul on the Government amounted to an insult of him and undermining his authority, especially when he was on a foreign visit.
Singh said he would discuss the issue with Rahul and that “it is always possible to change one’s mind”.
He said he will also “take into confidence” his Cabinet colleagues on the matter.
Singh pointed out that the Ordinance, that seeks to protect convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification, was discussed at the highest levels, including twice by the Cabinet as also the Congress Core group.
He referred to his earlier statement and noted, “I said I will put all these issues before my Cabinet colleagues. These are all matters which were discussed before the highest body, the core group of the Congress party. The Cabinet discussed this matter twice, not once.”
“I have been used to ups and downs,” said the Prime Minister in a composed manner while talking about the controversy that overshadowed part of his seven-day visit.
Answering questions by journalists on the controversy, he said he takes everything in his stride and “I don’t get upset easily, even when you ask”.
Rahul publicly rubbished the Ordinance on September 27, a few hours before Singh was to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington.
“Well, I think, I have seen Mr Rahul Gandhi’s statement. He has written to me on this subject also and let me say that when issues are raised in a democracy, in a democratic polity, the right course is to start with and trying to understand what is agitating the mind of the concerned people,” Singh said.
“When I go back, I will discuss these matters with Mr Rahul Gandhi. He has asked for a meeting with me and I will also take my Cabinet colleagues into confidence. We will see which way the wind blows,” he added.
Singh was asked whether one individual, no matter how senior he may be in the party, should have the space to undermine the decisions taken by the Cabinet and Core Group and whether his authority has been undermined.
“No, I don’t feel that way. I honestly feel that if there is an important point of view, any member of the Congress party, any member of my Cabinet is free to raise issues and require reconsideration of issues. I think that’s what democracy is about,” he replied.
“I don’t think we are an authoritarian structure in which one person lays down the line all the way and therefore my humble feeling is that when a point of view has been expressed, we must sit together and understand what is agitating the mind of the person who has raised these issue and that’s what we will do,” he added. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel