Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley Sunday slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s comments on a “breakthrough” with Pakistan, saying that such a development would go against India’s dignity.
“The prime minister said there was almost an agreement on Kashmir. When Pervez Musharraf said this, we did not believe him… but now the prime minister has said so,” said Jaitley at a rally organised by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev’s outfit Bharat Swabhiman Trust.
After a meeting in New Delhi in 2005, India and Pakistan, in a joint statement, had said that the peace process between the two countries was “irreversible”.
Jaitley said Sunday: “Kashmir does not belong to any one party, they cannot reach a conclusion without consulting all parties.”
He added that going by the accounts from Pakistan, the agreement included points like removing the army from Kashmir and opening the Line of Control (LoC).
“Some even said it included a clause for joint administration (of Kashmir). This is against the dignity of India, it was not a decision in favour of the country,” he said.
The prime minister, in his press conference Friday, had said: “At one time, it appeared that an important breakthrough was in sight.”
“Events in Pakistan, for example, the fact that General Musharraf had to make way for a different set-up, I think that led to the process not moving further,” the prime minister had said.
Jaitley said the prime minister’s comments showed that weak leadership could harm the nation.
“We must learn a lesson from Manmohan Singh. The post of prime minister is not an employment. History won’t see how long you were at the post, it will see what you did while at the post,” Jaitley said.
The prime minister had said in his press conference Friday that history would be kinder to him than the media and the opposition.
‘Breakthrough’ with Pakistan was against India’s dignity: Jaitley added by Indian newspaper Sydney on
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