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India readies evacuation plan for Iraq war By Liz Mathew, Indo Asian News Service New Delhi, Mar 3 (IANS) India has readied plans to evacuate its nationals from the Middle East in case of a war in Iraq, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told Parliament Monday. "We are prepared. There are four million Indians working in the Middle East. All arrangements will be made to bring them if they want to come back," Vajpayee told the Lok Sabha during his reply to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the president for his address to Parliament. Vajpayee spoke on a gamut of issues during his address but studiously avoided any reference to the Ayodhya tangle, which is to be debated by the Lok Sabha. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said Vajpayee was perhaps attempting a "balanced performance" in the wake of the party's drubbing in last month's assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, where it lost power to the Congress party. Even on Iraq, Vajpayee was rather ambiguous. "You (the left) go too far. We are not going too far. We want a middle path," he said without elaborating while responding to an intervention by Somnath Chatterjee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). Chatterjee had wanted Vajpayee to clarify the government's position on Iraq in a situation where the world was divided into pro- and anti-U.S. groups. "I have been asking all our foreign guests whether there will be a war. Nobody said there would be no war," Vajpayee observed. The prime minister blamed Pakistan for creating tension in the region. He said: "We have not created tension. It is Pakistan that created it. If the U.S. has not been able to pressurise Pakistan, it reflects its weakness. "If the U.S. cannot influence it (Pakistan), it (the U.S) is weak. It has to reconsider its tactics." However, he said, India wants to avoid war with Pakistan. "After the Indian Parliament was attacked, it appeared that due to international pressure, Pakistan was keen to curb terrorism. The picture was a mixed one. Sometimes it looked as if there would be war and sometimes there would not be." Vajpayee urged the opposition parties to support the government in the fight against terrorism. "We will welcome your suggestions. There could be a discussion on the issue." Terming as "unfortunate" a statement by Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi that the government was using terrorism to polarise society, Vajpayee said it would send "wrong signals to the international community". Vajpayee accused Gandhi of exaggerating facts in accusing the BJP of indulging in divisive politics. "Sonia Gandhi asked why there was only one sentence on secularism in the president's address. Our country will always hold the view that all religions are equal." Vajpayee took on Gandhi for accusing the government of being partisan in allocating foodgrain to drought-affected states. He said Rajasthan, which was ruled by the Congress, was supplied more foodgrain than any other state. "It is a matter of prestige and credibility. Our government never discriminates among states. It is a question of giving food to the hungry. It will be inhuman if we play politics on this." Vajpayee reiterated his government had provided jobs to eight million people during his regime. Gandhi immediately intervened and reminded Vajpayee his government had promised 10 million jobs in one year. The prime minister took exception to Gandhi saying the government was led by the BJP. "It is not a BJP-led government, it's an NDA-led government. But you cannot wean away the allies from it. It is not as simple as it looks," he said. --Indo-Asian News Service _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
