NEW DELHI, 7 June 2003 — The leader of India’s main opposition Congress party Sonia Gandhi has opposed deploying Indian troops in Iraq as part of a stabilization force without a UN mandate. In a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the president of the 115-year-old Congress party said deploying troops without a UN mandate would violate “fundamental principles” followed by India. The Cabinet discussed the issue on Thursday prior to the departure of Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani to the United States and Britain. Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh argued in favor of deploying troops in Iraq while Advani and Defense Minister George Fernandes urged caution.
