Joint statement a shame: Yashwant

Declaring that the attack on Mumbai was an attack on India,Sinha accused the government of staging a turnaround by agreeing to discuss the entire gamut of Indo-Pak relations even as Pakistan had freed Hafiz Saeed,the alleged mastermind of the attack. The issue of blaming Pakistan as the perpetrator of the 26/11 attacks is gone, Sinha said. The BJP leader wondered at the inclusion of Balochistan in the joint statement and said Pakistan would now use it against India at international summits.

Sinha said instead of walking half the mile,the PM had walked all the way into Pakistan.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav urged the PM to dump the joint statement and felt that the lack of will power was prompting Pakistan go on with its daring attack against India.

JDU leader Sharad Yadav wondered as to why no action had been taken against the Foreign Secretary for his reported statement that reference to Balochistan was due to bad drafting.

CPMs Basudeb Acharia,speaking after the PMs reply,wondered that if the governments position over the US not imposing any condition on India in EUMR was true then why did the US raise this issue recently. He said the US would not only influence India in this regard but would also exert pressure on NSG countries.