As They See It

After Kargil had been made an election issue, it was but natural that emotions against Pakistan would be used to score points with the rivals. The so-called 8220;victory8221; in Kargil has been given the pride of place in a list of achievements of the Vajpayee Government. The current 8220;tough8221; talking to Pakistan by the usually soft-spoken Vajpayee is meant to impress the Indian voter who has been swayed by the nationalist fervour triggered by Indian8217;s recent military campaign in the Kargil sector. The recent outbursts like 8220;no talks unless Pakistan stops backingseparatism8221; in Kashmir or 8220;nobody in the world can force us to go for a dialogue after keeping a gun to our head8221; should be taken with a pinch of salt. These and similar other utterances of Mr Vajpayee and his External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh are obviously aimed at winning votes by taking advantage of the wave of ultra-nationalism in the post-Kargil period.