The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, April 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India

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BJP for end to Iraq war
S. Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee lights the traditional lamp at the inauguration of the BJP National Executive Meeting in Indore on Friday. BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani are also seen in the picture.
— PTI photo

Indore, April 4
Deploring the “unjustified military action” by the USA, UK and their allies against Iraq, the BJP today said the war should be brought to an end and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq be preserved.

The BJP, which had been under a severe attack in Parliament from the Opposition for not taking a firm stand against the unilateral decision to take military action against Iraq, also asserted that immediate measures be taken by the international community to rush humanitarian aid to the suffering people of Iraq in consultation with Baghdad.

In a one-page resolution adopted by the BJP national executive here, the party expressed its anguish and distress over the large number of casualties and the plight of the hapless people of Iraq whose condition, the party said, was “rapidly worsening”.

The resolution was adopted unanimously by the national executive of the party in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu and a host of Central ministers and leaders.

The right of the people of Iraq to determine their political future and exercise control over their natural resources must be fully respected, the resolution said.

The executive called upon the international community to ensure that the crisis in Iraq does not lead to any dilution in efforts to bring an end to the huge potential threat to humanity and India, arising from continued patronage and sponsorship of terrorism by Pakistan as an instrument of its national policy.

The resolution also emphasised the need for the international community to remain focused on the global war against terrorism and to eschew “double standards” in this campaign. The epicentre of international terrorism is located in Pakistan, it said, adding that there was the most serious manifestation of a nexus between authoritarian rule, weapons of mass destruction, drug trafficking and terrorism flourish, it said.

The horrifying massacre of innocents that recently took place in Nandimarg is but an example of how the crisis in Iraq is used by the supporters of terrorists to engage in diversionary tactics and to advance their political goal of spreading conflict and violence within India, it added.

Earlier addressing the executive, Mr Venkaiah Naidu called for reviewing the Anti-Defection Law and called upon the party leaders to raise a strong team of about 10,000 full-time dedicated workers within the next two months for meeting the challenge during the next general election in 2004.

Asserting that the Anti-Defection Law in the present form has been ineffective, Mr Naidu demanded that the law should be reviewed thoroughly and a clause inserted, whereby any legislator leaving his or her parent party would automatically lose his or her membership of the House.

During his address, Mr Naidu spoke of the challenges ahead and the need to curb indiscipline.

Referring to the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, Mr Naidu said while the performance of the government provided the right launching pad, it was the discipline of the leaders and workers that made the difference.

Mr Naidu said the party needed to focus its attention on dealing effectively with the menace of terrorism and infiltration. He also underlined the need for pursuing NCERT curriculum, having anti-conversion law in all the states, controlling the population explosion and banning cow slaughter.