New Delhi, March 10
India today asked its citizens, including its embassy officials, to leave Iraq immediately even as the government made clear that no facilities would be extended to the USA if Washington went ahead with its unilateral action against Iraq, without the UN sanction. But the government rejected the Opposition demand for a US-critical parliamentary resolution on Iraq.
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha informed at the all-party meeting that “There are about 50 Indians including embassy staff in Iraq and they have been asked to take immediate steps to leave that country.”
Observing that the situation was “developing very rapidly”, Mr Sinha said India was ready to meet any contingency that might arise in the event of a military conflict.
“We have taken all precautions to ensure the safety and security of the Indian nationals in that area,” he said, adding that on the question of oil supplies “we have built our reserves. There is no cause for concern”.
The stand of the government and the Opposition became clear during an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, BJP leader V.K. Malhotra said Mr Vajpayee also indicated that India would not like to involve itself if the USA declared war without UN sanction.
Prof Malhotra said the Prime Minister stressed the need for exercising caution over the situation in Iraq which was “very fluid.” He said Mr Vajpayee told the meeting that India would not extend facilities to the USA if it did not abide by the UN resolution.
Mr Vajpayee said India would not like to spoil its relations with Iraq nor antagonise the USA, Prof Malhotra said.
The Prime Minister told the meeting that it was better to wait for a decision by the UN Security Council on the situation in Iraq and “it is too early to take any stand on the prevailing scene in the region,” Prof Malhotra said.
Emerging out of the meeting,
CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee described the two-hour long meeting as “very disappointing” with the government not making its stand clear despite a “near unanimous” demand that there should be a resolution in both Houses condemning the US action and expressing solidarity with Iraq.
Mr Chatterjee said the government did not make its position clear when told that India should not give any facility for the US military action against Iraq.
Quoting the government that it would make its stand clear when the situation arises, Mr Chatterjee said it was a very dangerous theory of the government that Iraq was not “wholly blameless”.
RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh lashed out at the government saying that “we should not remain neutral when possibility of atrocities being committed on Iraq were there”.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said a war should be averted under any circumstance and wondered as to how Baghdad could be attacked when UN inspectors have given it a “clean chit”.
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh quoted Congress President Sonia Gandhi saying that the UN and UN Charter must be upheld as a sheetanchor for peace and no power, howsoever strong militarily, should take action against Iraq without UN sanction and no one should talk of regime change.
“It is the responsibility of the government to make a comprehensive statement on the latest situation in Iraq and what arrangements it has made for safety and security of Indians there,” he said.
