New Delhi: Top BJP leaders who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday reportedly advised him that the country does not want to see him embracing Pakistan's Prime Minister at this time, a reference to a meeting planned between the two heads in New York next month.
Sources said the BJP has suggested that talks with the neighbour can be held at a lower level than that of PMs, or not at all.
The killing of five Indian Army jawans at the Line of Control in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, early on Tuesday and its fallout dominated the discussions this evening.
The BJP A-team of Rajnath Singh, LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley reportedly conveyed "deep anguish" to the PM at what they called Defence Minister AK Antony's "blunder" when he said in Parliament on Tuesday that 20 heavily armed militants accompanied by "persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms" had killed the five Army jawans on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
They listed contradictions between the minister's detailing of the deadly ambush and the assessment of the Indian Army - which initially blamed the Pakistani army for the killings - and warned that the minister's statement would eventually help Pakistan.
The government has defended Mr Antony and said that the Defence Ministry's statement which was later withdrawn was inaccurate. However, it is expected to issue a clarification in Parliament on Thursday.
The Opposition held up proceedings in both Houses on Wednesday, demanding an apology from Mr Antony and an explanation from the PM.
The Defence Minister was present at the meeting with the BJP. He had met the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning and later told Parliament that his statement on Tuesday was based on "whatever information" he had at the time, promising to update the Houses after Army Chief General Bikram Singh's Kashmir visit on Wednesday.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who too was present at the meeting with BJP leaders, told NDTV, "Pakistan is exploiting the divide inside our Parliament... whether they (attackers) were the Pakistan Army or terrorists in uniform, the responsibility for the attack is Pakistan's."
Mr Khurshid said it was too early to say whether Dr Singh would hold discussions with newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sideline of the UN General Assembly session in New York next month.
Sources said the BJP has suggested that talks with the neighbour can be held at a lower level than that of PMs, or not at all.
The killing of five Indian Army jawans at the Line of Control in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, early on Tuesday and its fallout dominated the discussions this evening.
They listed contradictions between the minister's detailing of the deadly ambush and the assessment of the Indian Army - which initially blamed the Pakistani army for the killings - and warned that the minister's statement would eventually help Pakistan.
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The Opposition held up proceedings in both Houses on Wednesday, demanding an apology from Mr Antony and an explanation from the PM.
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External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who too was present at the meeting with BJP leaders, told NDTV, "Pakistan is exploiting the divide inside our Parliament... whether they (attackers) were the Pakistan Army or terrorists in uniform, the responsibility for the attack is Pakistan's."
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