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Congress to stick to its stand

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI JUNE 14. The Congress is opposed to the deployment of Indian troops under any command other than that of the United Nations in Iraq. Senior leaders formulating the party's position on the issue ahead of Sunday's meeting between the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, maintained there would be no change from the position taken in Ms. Gandhi's June 4 letter to Mr. Vajpayee.

In the letter, she had made it clear that the Congress would be "totally opposed to the deployment of Indian troops under any arrangement other than a U.N. command or as a part of the multinational peacekeeping force that has the mandate of the U.N.".

Senior Congress leaders believe that the party's position has been strengthened by the statement of the U.S. Ambassador, Robert Blackwill. In a statement on Friday, Mr. Blackwill had said that Indo-U.S. ties would not be affected in the event of India deciding against sending troops to Iraq. "There are no compulsions for sending the troops and India should not unnecessarily get involved in a messy situation," said a senior party leader. The Congress is likely to be represented at tomorrow's meeting by Ms. Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Natwar Singh. Party sources said the Government would be quizzed on the need to rush into a situation where others such as Russia, Canada and Germany "feared to tread".

Senior Congress leaders say that in the public eye the party has been associated with the Non-Aligned Movement and as a proponent of the policy of equidistance. For the party to abandon that policy, specially after having taken a categorical stand as stated in Ms. Gandhi's letter to Mr. Vajpayee, would mean a loss of face.

Mulayam for all-party meet

NEW DELHI JUNE 14. The Opposition parties' campaign against what they call the proposed move to send Indian troops to the war-ravaged Iraq became shriller today with the Samajwadi Party also joining the bandwagon.

Opposing any move to deploy Indian troops in Iraq without the mandate of the United Nations, the Samajwadi Party urged the Government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the matter of national importance.

At a press conference here, the Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh Yadav, accused the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, of ``succumbing'' to U.S. pressure.

The move made during Mr. Advani's current visit to the U.S. had tarnished the image of India, he alleged.

Mr. Yadav, who once held the Defence portfolio, asked how could India send troops to Iraq as there was no Government there and the U.S. was controlling that country. The country had ``committed'' a mistake by sending its troops to Sri Lanka, he said.

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