NEW DELHI, 18 May — The political fraternity closed ranks in Parliament yesterday to condemn the massacre of 31 people in Kashmir this week and blamed Pakistan for fomenting terror in India. Encouraged by the all-round condemnation, the government vowed to put down the bloody terrorist campaign in the northern state, blaming Pakistan for carrying out a proxy war, as it could not take on Indian forces in conventional fighting.
The unanimity in the political spectrum followed two-and-a-half months of bitter confrontation between the government and opposition parties over the sectarian bloodshed in Gujarat since February-end.
But the government avoided spelling out its response to the attack Tuesday in Jammu, with the Lok Sabha being told that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would decide on the action on the basis of suggestions made during the parliamentary debate.
Home Minister L.K. Advani told Parliament an announcement could be made in due course by Vajpayee on national television. “The government will certainly do its duty,” he said.
“India is committed to fight and win its war against terrorism. Cross-bor der terrorism is the biggest challenge before us and we have to fight our own battle irrespective of US support,” Advani said. New Delhi has alleged that the three suspected militants behind the incident were all Pakistanis.
Stating that India always wanted friendship and a peaceful relationship with Pakistan, he charged: “Pakistan is a state sponsoring terrorism. There is no change in its stand on Jammu and Kashmir terrorism after Sept. 11.” Signing off a prolonged budget session of Parliament on a more united note compared to incessant bickerings and face-offs on the Gujarat communal carnage, opposition and ruling party MPs joined to urge New Delhi to unleash its might to crush militancy in Kashmir.
Amid appeals for a well-calibrated but effective action against the cancer of terror plaguing the Himalayan state, some MPs pressed the government to hit out at Pakistan, accusing it of backing a dragging insurgency in the state.
Opening the debate, main opposition Congress party President Sonia Gandhi assured her full support to the prime minister in the fight against terrorism in the state.
But Sonia rued that the government had proved “ineffective”. “The latest outrage in Jammu has exposed the weakness in our security. This was not unprecedented. There are reports such attacks are likely to increase.”
She also warned the government against resorting to “customary rhetoric” on Kashmir. “If it has any strategy, it should spell it out clearly and once for all. We will continue to stand by the government on such vital issues.” Although critical of the government for flawed security arrangements that allowed the militants to strike at will, the entire opposition rallied behind Vajpayee and promised to back any measure he would take to counter terror attacks.
Marxist leader Somnath Chatterjee, while urging the government to beef up security measures, said New Delhi should strengthen democracy in the state, and warned against war-mongering. Another opposition leader, Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is a former defense minister, alleged that Delhi’s repeated “inaction” had emboldened Pakistan.
“My party would extend all support to any government response against Pakistan,” Mulayam said. He asked the government not to depend on the US. “We will have to fight our battle on our own.” Members of the ruling coalition urged the government to respond strongly to the attack, without buckling under foreign pressure.
“Pakistan is not going to stop its activities to help insurgency in India, so we must take strong action against it,” said Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, an ally of Vajpayee.
Anant Geethe, an MP of the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena party, called for war against Pakistan. “Terrorism in Kashmir is a proxy war launched by Pakistan,” he said. “We must give a befitting reply to Pakistan.”
Although members of the prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were more restrained in their speeches, a senior MP, M.L. Khurana, warned that India’s patience with Pakistan was running thin. “We have to fight a decisive battle against terrorism. “We have to tell Pakistan enough is enough,” he said.
