No dialogue over dead bodies: BJP tells PM after J&K terrorist attacks

New Delhi / Trichy: The Bharatiya Janata Party today condemned the twin terror attacks in Jammu region, and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should call off his proposed talks with Nawaz Sharif this Sunday on the sidelines of a UN meet in New York.

"Mr Prime Minister, no dialogue over dead bodies. Please cancel your meeting with Nawaz Sharif," BJP leader Sushma Swaraj  tweeted this evening. (Read: J&K terror attack: political reactions)

Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for 2014, said at a public rally in Tamil Nadu, "Mr PM, the country wants to know, what is your priority? Is it national pride and respecting the blood of martyrs or is it to show eagerness to talk to Pakistan under pressure from other countries?"

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks by terrorists who he said continued to receive encouragement and reinforcement from across the border, but made it clear that there was no change in his plans. "Such attacks will not deter us and will not succeed in derailing our efforts to find a resolution to our problems through the process of dialogue," he said. (Read: PM condemns attack, says it won't derail dialogue with Pakistan)

The PM's firm resolve to continue dialogue is seen as a major political gamble ahead of state elections and polls due by May. While Dr Singh is widely believed to be in the final leg of his
tenure, his party, the Congress may find it more difficult to back his peace initiative.

The BJP has repeatedly urged New Delhi to boycott Pakistan after gruesome attacks on Indian soldiers this year, especially on August 6, when five soldiers were killed in a Pakistani ambush. The incident was followed by a spurt in attacks along the Line of Control (LoC), or the de facto border between the two countries.

India had suspended talks with Pakistan after two soldiers were killed - one of them beheaded - at the LoC in January. After his party returned to power in May after 14 years, Nawaz Sharif made several pro-India statements and said he looked forward to meeting Manmohan Singh in September. (Read)

But the August 6 killings, just ahead of Indian Parliament's monsoon session, led to fresh pressure from the Opposition on the PM to scrap the proposed talks.