'War With Pakistan Ruled Out'

Following are excerpts from Prime Minister Vajpayee's press conference at theRaj Bhawan in Lucknow.

Indo-Pak relations

The Prime Minister ruled out war with Pakistan andvoiced apprehensions that President Pervez Musharraf would not be able to fulfilhis pledge to end infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir.

Vajpayee said the tension along the border had easedbut ruled out the withdrawal of troops from the borders at the moment. "Thesituation at the borders is reviewed from time to time and decisions takenaccordingly," he said.

Asked about apprehensions that neither the infiltrationnor cross-border terrorism had stopped, Vajpayee said he shared suchapprehensions.

But, he said Pakistan was tied to its assurance to haltcross-border terrorism and hoped international pressure would continue to bemounted on it to implement its promises.

The Prime Minister ruled out any dialogue with Pakistanuntil the latter stopped aiding and abetting cross- border terrorism andinfiltration. In this connection the PM mentioned Gen Musharraf had assured theUS during his talks with the Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that itwould permanently stop cross border terrorism and infiltration. "We hopethat the assurances given to the US in this regard will be fulfilled," heremarked.

Vajpayee said India was always ready to talk toPakistan on all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir but added that aconducive atmosphere was a must for holding of such a dialogue.

The Prime Minister termed as "unfair to him"when a reporter posed a question whether the country always looked at the USwhile formulating its policies on the stand-off with Pakistan.

Cabinet reshuffle

"A proposal for a Deputy Prime Minister has come.It is being considered. Consultations with NDA allies are on and a decision willbe taken soon", he said. (There have beenreports that Home Minister L.K. Advani may be elevated as Deputy Prime Ministerin the Cabinet reshuffle on July 1)

Vajpayee announced he would be making "majorchanges" in his Cabinet shifting some "important" BJP ministersto the organisation and inducting NDA constituents like Trinamool Congress andPMK.

The vacancies that may arise in the governmentfollowing shifting of ministers to the organisation would be filled up, he said.

However, he ruled out the BSP forming part of the governmentsaying it was not in the NDA.

"We have now started an exercise to make the governmentsensitive and responsive to people's aspirations," Vajpayee said addingthat the objective of the reshuffle was to take advantage of thetwo-and-a-half-years of experience and bring desired changes in governance.

He said the stock taking of the government'sperformance had begun. When asked whether the exercise was reflective of thefailure of the government, he said "We have seen the results of recentelections in some states. The results have given us a message and we have alsolearnt from them."

Farooq Abdullah's candidature for Vice-Presidentship

"Abdullah was considered for the Vice President'spost but later his candidature was changed," Vajpayee said, adding that DrAbdullah had been consulted by the government on the Presidential candidate.

The PM said Dr Abdullah had a meeting with him recentlyand gave the assurance that the National Conference would remain a part of theNDA and continue its support to the NDA.

Elections in Kashmir

The Prime Minister said the government was committed toensuring free and fair elections and if warranted would consider imposingCentral rule there. There was a proposal in this regard, he said.

Asked if the Centre would hold talks with the All PartyHurriyat Conference (APHC), Vajpayee said his government was always ready for adialogue with it provided it was unconditional. He, however, said that APHC hasrefused to speak to Centre's interlocuter K.C. Pant.

In a later development, Vajpayee spoke to Abdullah and clarified that hisanswer was that the Centre was committed to ensuring free and fair elections inthe state and the suggestion of imposition of President's rule was one of theoptions. According to the sources the Chief Minister was satisfied with thePrime Minister's clarification.

Ayodhya imbroglio

"When did the BJP abandon the Ram Templeissue," the Prime Minister retorted when asked whether the appointment ofthe hardliner Vinay Katiyar as the Uttar Pradesh BJP president was reflective ofparty's attempt to revive its Hindutva agenda.

On being asked for his comment on the Vishwa HinduParishad's decision not to abide by the court verdict on the vexed issue, hereiterated that the party's stand on this issue was clear. "We favour anegotiated settlement or accept a court verdict," he said.

"I do not want to reply to it," Vajpayee saidcryptically when asked to comment on Kanchi seer Jayendra Sarswati's assertionthat the Prime Minister was too busy to spare time for settling the Ayodhyaissue.

Foreign Direct Investment

"The FDI in print media will not be allowed to be'amaryadit' (uncontrolled)," he told a questioner. The decision was takenafter pondering over the pros and cons of the issue and the apprehension beingaired on this count were devoid of any basis, he said.

"The management and all the policy matters wouldbe in the hands of Indians," he said allaying all apprehensions on thiscount.

Relations with Nepal

"We will not permit terrorists of other countriesto create trouble there and will not allow our soil to be used for thispurpose," Vajpayee said.

"Nepal is our neighbour and we want that peaceprevails there", he said adding "we also want the constitutionalmonarchy to remain safe in the kingdom."

The Prime Minister said he had a wide rangingdiscussion with the visiting King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal andexpressed concern over the increasing activities of Maoists in the Himalayankingdom.

The Middle-East situation

"We hope that the steps, that are likely tofurther worsen the situation, will be avoided so that there was no impediment inthe final resolution of the crisis," he told reporters.

Asked to comment on US President George W. Bush'srecent statement that he would like to see the removal of Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the PM replied "We areclosely monitoring the situation there."

Ties with the Bahujan Samaj Party

Denying there was any "bitterness" in theBSP-BJP relationship in the state, Vajpayee advised that "both the partiesshould learn from their past experiences."

He observed that there were "bound to be someproblems whenever two parties come together."

Assistance to Uttar Pradesh

Vajpayee said he had received a memorandum from ChiefMinister Mayawati stating the economic difficulties being faced by the state.

He said the Centre would consider the demands and allpossible assistance would be provided to bring the state's economy back on therails.

A team of the Reserve Bank of India would soon visitthe state capital to look into the possibility of reviving the City CooperativeBank. Vajpayee said the RBI team would discuss the matter with the concernedstate government officials.

About the revival of UPTRON, the Prime Ministeradmitted that the attempts to revive the state-owned company had not beensuccessful. He, however, said employees, who had opted for voluntary retirement,should be paid their dues.

Journalist's murder

Vajpayee, while terming the murder of Paritosh Pandey a "heniouscrime", expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and said theinvestigation had been handed over to the Crime Branch of thestate police.

"The government was committed to ensure that the killers are apprehendedsoon", he said. (Journalist with a Hindi daily, Pandey was shot dead at hisresidence in Gomti Nagar here a few months back)

PTI