Govt could use war as an option for electoral dividends: BJP

Santosh K Joy and Sunil Gatade

Nagpur, Feb 6 (PTI) With polls round the corner, India's main opposition BJP, that used to make strident demands for strong action against Pakistan in the fight against cross-border terror, Friday appeared apprehensive that the government could use war as an option for electoral dividends.

"War (with pakistan) should not be abused as an
instrument for fulfilling political objectives.....this sort
of thing is not good when elections are approaching," party
president Rajnath Singh said in his inaugural address to the
National Executive here in western state of Maharashtra
Friday.

The Executive is meeting here ahead of the two-day
National Council meeting beginnig Saturday to strategise for
the Lok Sabha elections in which L K Advani is the party's
prime ministerial candidate.

Briefing reporters later, Party spokesperson Ravi
Shanker Prasad said the "appeal" by the BJP chief to the
government was in the context of Congress president Sonia
Gandhi's assertion at a rally in Jaipur that Pakistan's
"nefarious" designs of fomenting terror in the country would
not be allowed to succeed at any cost and that the challenge
would be met.

When asked whether the party feels that there will be
surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan ahead of the
polls and whether a war-hysteria could threaten its chances in
the elections, Prasad merely recalled Gandhi's comments.

Asked if in case of a war whether the party would
oppose it, Prasad said that "we will support this government
in the fight against terror as a responsible opposition".

The Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had declared
in the Lok Sabha after the Mumbai strikes that today evevryone
is united", he said.

"What has to be done and how it has to be done is a
serious thing and whatever has to be done should be done after
taking everyone in confidence. When the elections are round
the corner, the bogey of war is being used for political
purposes. It is not right," he said.

The address of the BJP chief distributed to the media
did not have the remarks concerning its fears of a war with
Pakistan and party leaders said they were remarks made
extempore.

Asked whether BJP had not utilised the Kargil
incursion for electoral gains in the 1999 Lok Sabha election,
Prasad replied in the negative.

He said that the then government had only decided that
the bodies of soldiers who laid down their lives in the action
should be sent to their native places for a befitting funeral.

The BJP chief accused the Congress-led coalition at
the Centre of not taking the opposition into confidence in the
fight against terrorism. He said that the first all-party
meeting was held only after the Mumbai strikes.

Singh said the terrorist attack on the Taj hotel in
Mumbai actually was an attack on the 'Taj' of self-respect
and pride of India. "BJP never played politics on the issue of
terrorism", he said.

He wanted the government to take actions "far beyond"
what it has taken in the wake of the Mumbai strikes.

"Instead of showing dependence on any country, the
central government should act strongly against terrorism on
its own", the BJP chief said without taking any country's
name.

Singh demanded that India should disssociate itself
from the joint terror mechanism with Pakistan as the
approach of the neighbouring country was "not of cooperation,
but of treachery".

Accusing the UPA Government of committing "four
strategic and diplomatic blunders" with Pakistan, the BJP
Chief said that the "biggest blunder" was to agree to form an
Indo-Pak Joint anti-terror mechanism.

"Taking advantage of this, Pakistan has demanded the
handing over the Malegaon accused Lt Col Purohit in the
Samjhauta Express incident".

Singh also said the people were suffering from the
"terror of price rise".

"The Congress enjoys an old relationship with price
rise. Unchecked price rise has been a feature of the close to
five years of Congress-led UPA rule. The life of the common
people has become hell".

Though the Congress has strated showing "activism"
with elections not far away, "they should be prepared to face
the consequences", he said.

Singh also dwelt at length on a variety of issues
including the economic crisis, the plight of farmers, UPA's
record of governance, the problem faced by Sri Lankan Tamils
and the situation in Nepal. PTI SPG/JOY