The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must call an all-party meeting for wider consultations and consensus on the nature of India’s relationship with China.
While reacting to China’s protest against Dr. Singh’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP national spokesperson and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Beijing had “cast aside all norms of international diplomacy.”
In a statement here, he said: “The language of protest used is not only fit to be condemned strongly but is part of a pattern showing rank belligerence against India and its strategic interest.”
However, Mr. Prasad said the BJP was dismayed at the “almost apologetic tone and tenor of the response of the External Affairs Minister.” Describing the response as “too routine,” he felt that the response raised doubts in the minds of the people about the government’s will and capability to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country.
Mr. Prasad said China’s “aggressive posture” was being met with “not only a timid response, but there is a deliberate attempt to downplay it.”
