NSA talks: Congress slams govt, says it played into Pak hands

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Singhvi also said the suspension of talks had allowed some people across the border the opportunity to score debating points.

Accusing the government of lacking coherence in its Pakistan policy, he said: “I think the government needs to put its house in order… Multiple agencies suddenly appear to have started making Indian foreign policy. The government needs to make sure that either the multiplicity is eliminated or complete unity and coherence are introduced in all those agencies.”

As Congress criticised the government for allowing Pakistan to “wriggle out”, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra countered the Opposition arguing that Pakistan called off the proposed talks knowing that it would stand exposed before the world if it discussed terror.

“Our government has further exposed Pakistan’s stand on terror in the global arena…. The government has done the right diplomacy and what used to be common practice in the past has today become ‘mission impossible’,” said Patra.

According to him, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had demolished Pakistan’s claims that there were preconditions set by the Indian dispensation for talks to take place.

Patra added that it was made clear to Pakistan that as per the Simla agreement between the two countries, there was no scope for any third party intervention in the talks process.

In an all out attack, Singhvi had also claimed that the problems in Indian domestic policy were allowed to make a mockery of India’s status in the world and it should have been avoided given the country’s “proud democratic status” and its “humongous economic power”.

The Congress spokesperson had said that his party deprecated “the ham-handed manner in which several aspects, which I have elaborated, were handled by the government.”

Under heavy fire from the Congress, the ruling party fought back hard with another party leader Sidhharth Nath Singh trying to claim victory for the government in reinforcing the “red-line” for Pakistan.

“Pakistan did not come for NSA talks because the talks were on terror. India has reinforced the red-line drawn in August 2014 before the foreign secretaries talks were called off that there can’t be any talks with the Hurriyat. It shows the determination of the government that the talks will be in the spirit of the (1972) Simla Agreement and that there is no room for a third party,” said Singh.

He added that India had reiterated that talks and terror cannot go hand in hand, but talks on terror can be taken up.

Pakistan had called off the NSA-level talks with India late on Saturday night. Pakistan Foreign Office had said that the proposed talks would have served no purpose if conducted on the basis of “preconditions” laid by India.