The Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of acting in a “knee-jerk manner” by cancelling foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan even as the BJP said Islamabad should respect the “red lines”.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said his party was not questioning why the dialogue had been cancelled.
“All we are saying is that the Government should share its Pakistan policy with the nation,” he said. There were two meetings between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif but neither Parliament nor the major political parties were taken into confidence, Mr. Sharma said.
It is not that we approve the High Commissioner inviting separatists, but we want to know why did the Government decided to have a dialogue in the first place, Mr. Sharma added.
The BJP, on its part, said, “The NDA government is strong. It has the mandate of the people and it does not need the Hurriyat or separatists to talk with Pakistan.”
Party secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said, “Pakistan should understand the red lines, and if anything within that, talks can happen.”
