Govt faces no threat from allies: PM

ON BOARD THE PM'S PLANE TO MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, FEB 10: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today confirmed that he would be travelling ...

ON BOARD THE PM8217;S PLANE TO MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, FEB 10: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today confirmed that he would be travelling to Lahore by bus on February 20 to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Talking to the media contingent accompanying him to the G-15 summit, he said the details of whether he would board the bus in Delhi or Amritsar were being worked out.

Vajpayee also said India was ready for discussions on the Kashmir issue. In response to another question about the allies posing a problem for his ministry, the Prime Minister asserted that his Government was 8220;stable and strong8221; and there was no threat. 8220;Such talk should not be taken seriously,8221; he added. He said he had spoken to 8220;almost all8221; the allies before leaving Delhi and added that they had agreed to continue support to the government.

He said he had kept in touch with AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha 8220;through an emissary8221; and had also spoken to Om Prakash Chautala on the telephone today explaining the economic rationale behind the price hike. This follows Chautala8217;s threat to withdraw support to the BJP-led Government. Chautala had informed him that he would take the decision on February 11, he said.

Vajpayee took a swipe at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said some people in Delhi were 8220;waiting for the fruit to ripen and fall in their laps.8221; They were merely building castles in the air and would not succeed, he added.

Vajpayee ruled out the imposition of President8217;s rule in Orissa following atrocities against Christians in the State. He said there was no comparison between Orissa and Gujarat. On whether the Gujarat chief minister should quit like J B Patnaik, he said: 8220;There have been no cases of rape or killings in Gujarat. Of course, what happened in Gujarat was also condemnable.8221;

These incidents, he said, were 8220;aberrations8221;. 8220;In Trinidad and Tobago, Christians came to meet me and no one raised the matter of what was happening in India.8221;

Vajpayee fielded questions on his proposed visit to Lahore. On what he would do if the Shiv Sena repeated what they had done to the cricket pitch at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds, Vajpayee shot back, 8220;Agli baari bhi Atal Behari.8221;

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He dismissed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Bajrang Dal8217;s criticism that he should take tanks, and not a bus, to the border. 8220;Tanks are already there,8221; he said.

On the need to continue talks with the United States, now that he would be talking to Pakistan on the nuclear issue, Vajpayee said: 8220;The need for dialogue with the US still remains.8221;