New Delhi, September 15
All political parties today extended full support to the government’s resolve to be a partner in its effort to fight against global terrorism and also cautioned the government to avoid any decision having a bearing on the national interests.

While extending unqualified backing, several opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, cautioned the government against taking any decision that would affect national security. “The situation is very complex and the government should be cautious in dealing with it as it concerns national security”, the parties said.

The two-hour meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, decided to commemorate September 18 as national solidarity day against terrorism and also observe a two-minute silence at 10.30 a.m. on that day to mourn those who died in the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh informed the meeting that India had not received any formal request from Washington for use of its airbases to hit terrorist hideouts in the region.

Later, briefing newspersons, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said the meeting saw all parties expressing satisfaction over the policies and stand of the government in the wake of the strikes and “supporting them in one voice”.

Asked whether Washington had sought Indian base facilities, Mr Mahajan said the External Affairs Minister had informed the meeting that “there is no such suggestion or request from the USA at this juncture. It will not be in anybody’s interests to elaborate further.”

Elaborating the government viewpoint, Mr Jaswant Singh said the war against terrorism should not be limited to inclusion of NATO countries alone and should involve all democracies, including India and Arab countries.

Warning against moves to equate terrorism with Islam, Mr Jaswant Singh said if this was done it would be a blunder and would lead to a breakup of global unity.

The External Affairs Minister cautioned that the war against terrorism would be a long-drawn affair and would have the maximum impact on the Indian subcontinent since the USA had identified Afghanistan as a terrorist hotbed.

“We are alive and alert to the situation,” he said, adding that measures were being taken to protect key defence and economic installations across the country.

Mr Mahajan said India was in touch with the USA at the level of the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser.

Besides Washington, New Delhi was also in contact with Moscow, Beijing, Paris, London and other major capitals and if need be, the External Affairs Minister might visit some of these countries in the next one or two weeks for further interaction, he said.

The meeting saw some parties suggesting the need for India, which is facing the scourge of Pakistan-backed militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, to use the opportunity when international opinion was fully against terrorism in the region.

All parties also cautioned the government to guard against the fallout of the fight against terrorism on the economic situation, especially the poor people. The government, the parties said, should ensure that prices were under control, inflation under check and the rupee stable.

On whether fresh taxes were likely to be imposed in light of the Prime Minister asking people to be prepared for “harsh measures” in the coming months, Mr Mahajan merely said he had no idea.

The opposition parties said they were in support of the government on whatever stand it took vis-a-vis the USA in stamping out terrorism, but cautioned that any such strategy should be in the national interests and be defensible in the eyes of international law.

“India should use its influence to ensure that any strategy (to combat terrorism) is credible, effective, sustainable and defensible in the eyes of international law and world public opinion,” senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh told newspersons after the meeting.

The government should “anticipate the likely fallout and consequences of any US strike against terrorists and take effective steps to safeguard our vital national interests,” Dr Manmohan Singh said.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and others drew the government’s attention towards the attack on the Sikh community in the USA.

The External Affairs Minister informed the meeting that India had taken up the issue with the US authorities and necessary instructions were issued to the Indian mission in New York and the Embassy in Washington to take up the matter with the authorities concerned .

All parties at the meeting not only condemned the terror strikes, but also those countries which aid and abet terrorism. Such countries “should not be given any encouragement whatsoever,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.

CPM General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said he had cautioned the government on the long-term repercussions of any possible US strike and the “prospects for the South Asian region”, given India’s earlier stand on Afghanistan.

Mr Surjeet, while accepting that there would be rise in prices of commodities in case of a military strike, asked the government to tax the rich and not burden the poor.