Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 25: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today reiterated that terrorism and talks with Pakistan cannot go together, asserting that Islamabad must dismantle terror infrastructure and stop supporting terrorists before any dialogue process with India can resume.
Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson R.P. Singh said the Government of India’s position on Pakistan remained unchanged despite recent remarks by the RSS general secretary favouring dialogue between the two countries.
“We also believe that talks should happen, but the Government of India has a stated policy that terrorism and talks cannot go together. Terror attacks must stop and terrorists must vanish,” Singh said.
He alleged that Pakistan continues to shelter terrorists and allow designated terrorists to operate openly.
“We recently saw the Hizbul chief there; he is a declared terrorist and has a bounty on his head,” he said, adding that Pakistan would have to “correct its system, eradicate terrorism and stop sending terrorists to India” before meaningful talks could take place.
Singh also defended the Centre over rising fuel prices, claiming that India was comparatively better placed than several countries facing steep inflationary trends.
“In comparison to other countries, fuel prices have increased by 7.5 per cent in India, whereas in the US they have raised by 44 per cent, in the UAE by 48 per cent, and in several other countries by between 40 and 80 per cent,” he said.
He said the Centre had taken “early steps” to reduce the burden on consumers by cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 to cushion the impact of rising global fuel prices.
Linking the issue to global developments, Singh said improving conditions in the Middle East could positively affect fuel prices and the broader economy.
He added that the Government was also trying to protect the country’s forex reserves and had urged people to reduce dependence on petrol and diesel by using electric vehicles and public transport.
“The Government is trying to ensure that people are minimally affected by the crisis and is bearing as much burden as possible. In the coming time, the situation is expected to improve and people will get relief,” he added.
During the interaction, Singh also targeted the “Cockroach Janata Party”, saying political messaging on social media carried little meaning unless leaders engaged with people on the ground.
“Someone from there should come on the ground; things said on social media do not make much sense,” he said.
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