Author: New
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: Nov. 25, 2006
Pranab pledges State will stay with India
The Chinese envoy's remarks on Arunachal Pradesh rocked the Parliament on Friday with the BJP mounting a scathing attack on the Left parties and charging the Government with mortgaging the foreign policy to CPM.
The main Opposition party also demanded a parliamentary resolution stating unambiguously, that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India.
These issues dominated both the Houses and also led to the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha twice amid acrimonious exchanges between the BJP and CPI(M) members.
In the Lok Sabha, responding to the outrage of the House on China's claim, Pranab Mukherjee said that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India and would remain so. "It is not a matter of debate, and there is already a resolution unanimously passed by Parliament in this regard," Mukherjee said.
In response to the Leader of Opposition LK Advani's question whether the Government had formally taken notice of Chinese ambassador Sun Yaxi's observation on Arunachal Pradesh, Mukherjee said Indian ambassador in Beijing had registered the country's official protest with the authorities.
Though the House put up a united face on Arunachal Pradesh, there were bouts of heated exchange. The BJP and Shiv Sena members were on their feet when Gurudas Dasgupta of CPI, after agreeing with Advani's views, said that he did not take Yaxi's statements as the official stand of the Government of China.
The House witnessed a similar scene when Vijay Kumar Malhotra of the BJP claimed that a senior CPM leader had been quoted by the media, saying that Arunachal Pradesh was a disputed territory. It was enough for the CPM members to be on their feet. Mohammad Salim and Basudeb Acharia denied if their any leader had said so.
Raising the issue just after the Zero Hour, Advani criticised the Government for not firmly rejecting the observation of the Chinese diplomat. "The Government and the Parliament should strongly reject the Chinese claim by reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is part and parcel of India," Advani said.
He was joined by the members of Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Congress, and Gurudas Dasgupta of CPI, Devendra Prasad Yadav of the RJD.
There was total unanimity among MPs over Arunachal Pradesh being India's integral part.
In the Rajya Sabha also the Government, rejected the BJP demand for a resolution with minister of state for parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachauri pointing out that Pranab Mukherjee had clearly stated on November 14 that whole of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and shall remain so.
The House witnessed sharp exchanges between the BJP and CPM members after leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh accused the CPM of refraining from describing China as an aggressor in the 1962 India-China war.
Acrimonious scenes were witnessed when CPM leader Sitaram Yechury denied the allegations and the BJP members led by Sushma Swaraj contested his assertions.
Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat tried to restore order and asked the BJP members to allow Yechury to make his point but the opposition did not relent.
Many BJP members walked into the well of the house and raised slogans and the chair adjourned the proceedings till after 2.00 p.m. Similar scenes were witnessed when the Elders met again and Deputy chairman K. Rehman Khan then adjourned the house after ten minutes till 2.30 p.m.
Earlier, raising the issue during zero hour, Mr. Jaswant Singh said both the houses should adopt a resolution stating unequivocally that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and shall remain so. He also said "ambivalence" on this issue was extremely dangerous and detrimental to national interest.
Singh then trained his guns on the CPM and blamed the party for having "difficulty in accepting that China committed an aggression in 1962".
Singh then went on say, "I appeal to the Government not to mortage its foreign policy to CPM which has not uttered a single word that China was an aggressor," triggering protests from Left benches.
The former external affairs minister also said the Manmohan Singh government was "held to ransom" by the Left parties even on important foreign policy issues.
He said foreign policy matters were determined not by the Government but by the CPM and, "I appeal to the Government that important foreign policy issues that are vital for the territorial integrity of the country should not be decided by proxy."
The BJP leader said amidst the din that "timidity" on the part of the Government in expressing total robust commitment to country's territorial integrity was not a good foreign policy. Quoting from a speech in Parliament, he said the CPM did not consider India as its motherland and it always looked towards Moscow and Beijing.
Refuting the charges, Yechury asserted that his party"s stand was clear that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and shall remain so. He asked Jaswant Singh not to spread what he termed as canard and that "we are not going to be bulldozed by fascistic intolerance."
While rejecting China's claim on Arunachal Pradesh, Yechury said the boundary dispute should be resolved through negotiations. This led to sharp reaction from the BJP benches and the house then saw sharp exchanges between the Left and opposition members.