PoK areas to be reclaimed: Fernandes
Rules out LoC conversion

NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (PTI) — Defence Minister George Fernandes has said that the areas of Jammu and Kashmir under Pakistani occupation have to be reclaimed and ruled out the conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into international border.

“...There is a part of Jammu and Kashmir which is occupied by Pakistan, and that part has to be reclaimed”, Mr Fernandes told Eenadu TV in an interview.

Asked whether the Line of Control should be converted into an international border between India and Pakistan taking into account the ground realities, he said “that is not the position of the government and I don’t think that will be the position of the government (in future also)”.

According to the transcript of the interview, he said: “There is some part of Jammu and Kashmir which is lying with China. That is also a factor which can’t be lightly dismissed. That is the ground reality. Now if one talks, discusses and debates, what emerges out of that is too premature at the moment to guess even”.

On the recent massacres in Doda and Prankote in Jammu and Kashmir, the Defence Minister said “there seems to be a sinister design on the part of our neighbour, who has been sending mercenaries into this region of Kashmir and the effort seems to be to create a Hindu-Muslim confrontation in the Doda region. Fortunately, so far they have not been successful”

.“The government has planned special measures and is in the process of implementing these”, he said.

Spelling out these measures, Mr Fernandes said: “It is a question of inducting more forces, using local intelligence for the purpose of the identification of mercenaries and also having a very swift-moving striking force which can act with great speed in areas where the movements of mercenaries are noticed. We expect better results in the coming days”.

On the continuous heavy artillery firing by Pakistan along LoC, he said “Pakistan is orchestrating incidents on the border to create a sense of alarm and project Jammu and Kashmir as a flashpoint. Pakistan’s desperation is becoming acute in view of the fast-declining support in the valley to militancy”.

On the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), he said: “the discriminatory part is that it says that those of us who have (nuclear bomb) will have, and those of you who don’t have, will never have. Now we have said that we have”.

Asked what India expected from the USA in return for signing CTBT, he said: “There is no give and take involved. What is involved is the acceptance and realisation that India is a nuclear weapon state, in the same way as the USA, China, Russia or other nuclear weapon states only the right to go about their business. So do we have the right to go about our business”.

In an interview to Star TV tonight, he said nuclear deterrent did not have any place in resolving the situation along the LoC in Kashmir and India’s efforts were to bring Pakistan to the negotiating table on all bilateral issues.
If at all there is any conflict on Kashmir it would be a conventional one to be "tackled in a way it is tackled", he said.

However, it was "premature" to make any observation on the situation in the border, he said adding that the Prime Ministers of both countries were scheduled to hold discussions in Durban (South Africa) later this month. He hoped that talks between the two countries would continue.

RLM supports SAD on Udham Singh Nagar

LUCKNOW, Aug 9 (PTI) — The Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) today supported the Shiromani Akali Dal in opposing the Vajpayee Government’s decision to include Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal state and demanded the exclusion of some plains of Garhwal division from the proposed state, giving a new twist to the controversy.

"The RLM would not allow the inclusion of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed Uttaranchal state and at the same time would press taking some areas of the plains of Garhwal division into Uttar Pradesh," RLM president Mulayam Singh Yadav told a mammoth rally here.

He said "we have already registered our protest with the President of India" on the issue and threatened to take to the streets if the BJP-led government at the Centre did not reverse its decision to include Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed Uttaranchal to be carved out of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Yadav’s remarks came two days after the Shiromani Akali Dal, a key constituent of the Vajpayee Government, threatened to withdraw support to it if the decision to include Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal was not rescinded.

He attacked the United Front Government for not doing anything to dislodge or weaken the BJP coalition government and said the Vajpayee government was in the saddle because of the betrayal by a section of front leaders.

The RLM today reiterated its support to the Congress if it takes initiative in dislodging the Vajpayee Government at the Centre.

"It is high time the Congress comes forward and the morcha will come out openly to support it", RLM president Mulayam Singh Yadav said expressing dismay at the reluctance of the Congress to initiate the removal of the Vajpayee Government.

Addressing a mammoth rally at the historic Hazratmahal Park, he described the BJP as "dangerous" and "communal", adding "it would be a shame for the country if the National Flag is unfurled by fascist and communal forces on Independence Day".

Speaking at the rally, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Laloo Prasad claimed the RLM would emerge as a "political force to reckon with and would be able to defeat the communal and fascist forces".

Asserting "the Laloo-Mulayam combination would now lead the sarvahara samaj (proletariat) to the seat of power in Delhi, he asked "is there anyone other than Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav who could be projected as the Prime Minister in the country?"

"We committed a mistake on this count earlier, but would not repeat it now", he said.

The RJD President also criticised the BJP government for its failure on the diplomatic front.

Referring to the Srikrishna report which indicted the Shiv Sena and Mr Bal Thackeray for their role in the Mumbai riots in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, the former Defence Minister said "if the Sena leaders are not put behind bars, the RLM would wage a long drawn agitation and ensure that they are punished".

Referring to joining hands with RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav and forming the morcha, Mr Yadav said "we would stand together like a rock and are prepared to lay down our lives if the guilty are not punished".

Assuring full protection to the minorities, he criticised the Maharashtra Government for deporting and ill-treating the Bengalis, Muslims and those from other parts of the country from Mumbai by calling them as foreign nationals.

Mr Mulayam Singh criticised the United Front for letting him and the RJD President down. "The present Vajpayee government was in the saddle because of the betrayal by a section of the front leaders", he said.

"The front leaders were not doing anything to dislodge or weaken the BJP coalition government", Mr Yadav said.

The RLM, Mr Mulayam Singh said "would not allow the inclusion of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed Uttaranchal state and at the same time would also press for some areas of the plains of Garhwal division into Uttar Pradesh.

We have already registered our protest with the President and will take the issue to the streets by launching an agitation if the decision is not reversed", he said.

Alleging that "jungle rule" prevailed in Uttar Pradesh, he said "innocent persons were being killed in fake encounters, atrocities on the backwards and the Dalits had increased and there was total chaos at all levels".

Describing the anti-copying ordinance as a "black ordinance", Mr Yadav said if they came to power in the state, the "draconian legislation" would be repealed "within 10 minutes of assuming power. A commission would also be set up to look into the circumstances in which the ordinance was issued".

Others who addressed the rally included Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, independent MP Buta Singh and Telugu Desam Party leader Lakshmi Parvathi.