'Terrorism And Dialogue Cannot Go Together'

Honourable Members, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this firstsession of Parliament in 2002. My best wishes are with you for the successfulcompletion of the heavy budgetary and legislative business ahead.

2. As we begin this session, most of the results of the elections to theLegislative Assemblies of four States - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, andUttaranchal - have come in. I join you in congratulating the newly electedlegislators. Our special felicitations go to the people of Uttaranchal, who haveelected their Vidhan Sabha for the first time after the formation of theirState. I also welcome the newly elected Members of the Lok Sabha, consequent tothe bye-elections in some constituencies.

3. This is the first session of Parliament after the unprecedented terroristattack on this Temple of India's Democracy on December 13 last year. It was anaudacious challenge to our sovereignty. It was an assault on our national honour.It was a diabolical plot to carry out large-scale annihilation of the leaders ofdifferent political parties and peoples' representatives. Had the plotsucceeded, it would have resulted in a catastrophe of unthinkable proportions.Nine brave souls sacrificed their lives to defend our Parliament and itsmembers. We pay our grateful homage to these martyrs.

4. What happened on December 13 was the nadir of a long list of reprehensibleacts in a twenty-year long campaign of cross-border terrorism against India. Itstrengthened our resolve to deal decisively and conclusively with thischallenge. The investigation into this conspiracy has clearly revealed the handof terrorist organizations, which have for long operated from Pakistani soilwith the support of the ruling establishment of that country. It is now alsoestablished that these terror outfits are closely aligned through ideology,inspiration, resources, and logistics to those who carried out the terroristattacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

5. My Government has made it absolutely clear that India is determined to endcross-border terrorism by all the means at our command. The brave jawans andofficers of our armed forces have been fully mobilized on our western bordersand have maintained vigil despite difficult conditions. The necessary level ofmilitary strength and preparedness will be maintained to deter any aggression.On a parallel track, we have taken several diplomatic and political measuresagainst Pakistan. We have also intensified our efforts to increase awarenessamong the Governments and the peoples of the world on our just struggle againstcross-border terrorism. We have emphasized that terrorism cannot be condemnedsomewhere and condoned elsewhere. The fight against terrorism has to be globaland comprehensive. It should target not only the terrorist, but also those whosponsor, finance, support, or shelter them. Several Members of Parliament,belonging to different political parties, have travelled to various capitals ofthe world in recent weeks as a part of this exercise. There is far greaterappreciation and support abroad for India's position than ever before. Anillustration of this is our success in persuading the United Arab Emirates tohand over a key accused in the recent terrorist attack in Kolkata.

6. The entire nation is united in this decisive phase of the battle againstterrorism. The complete consensus among political parties on this issue has onceagain demonstrated the maturity and greatness of our democracy.

7. We keep hearing calls of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan. Terrorismand dialogue cannot go together. Recent history is witness to the fact that,whereas India has always been ready for meaningful and fruitful talks withPakistan, it is Pakistan that has ensured their failure with its acts ofbetrayal. India is prepared to resume the dialogue process with Pakistan,provided Islamabad satisfies us that it has indeed taken effective steps to endthe training, equipping and financing of the terrorists and stop theirinfiltration into Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India. We also demandthat Islamabad hand over to us the twenty terrorists who have committed gravecrimes in India and who continue to receive shelter in Pakistan. Positive actionby Islamabad on these demands is the test of its sincerity to end its hostilityagainst India and to pave the way for discussing all the outstanding issues,including that of Jammu and Kashmir, in a peaceful manner, through bilateraldialogue.

8. The Government has a clear strategy to deal with the internal situation inJammu and Kashmir. First, to counter the terrorists with a firm hand. In this,our security forces have already recorded demonstrable successes. We shalltriumph in our mission to root out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir in the sameway that we did in Punjab in the last decade. Let no one have any doubts aboutit. The second objective in our strategy is to support faster economicdevelopment of all the three regions of the State, especially to createemployment for the youth. Thirdly, we are prepared to talk with any group ofpeople within the State who eschew the path of violence and who may havelegitimate grievances.

9. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will elect a new Legislative Assemblylater this year, through free and fair elections. No doubt, we have to bevigilant against those who have no faith in democracy and have shown theirwillingness to go to any length to subvert the manifestation of people'saspirations. I am confident that the forthcoming elections will help the returnof peace and normalcy, and accelerate the process of all-round development ofJammu and Kashmir.

10. The Government attaches the highest priority to national security. Basedon the recommendations of the Group of Ministers, which comprehensively reviewedour National Security systems, far-reaching reforms are being carried out in thehigher defence management, leading to closer coordination between the threeservices of the Armed Forces and integration of military and civilian defencestructures. A separate Defence Procurement Board has been set up to speed updefence purchases, make them more responsive to needs of the Armed Forces, andto bring greater transparency in procurement.

11. I congratulate our defence scientists and engineers for the successfultest of the Agni missile last month. Coupled with other missiles, which we havealready tested, this will strengthen India's defence against any militaryadventures aimed at us.

12. In our continuing quest for self-reliance, the manufacture of many typesof defence equipment has been opened up to the private sector, so that ournational security can benefit from the impressive capabilities developed inrecent decades by private Indian companies. They may now apply for licenses toset up defence industries, and to establish collaborations with public-sectordefence undertakings. Such companies can also have foreign direct investment ofup to 26 percent of the equity. This will impart a new vigour to indigenousdefence production and exports.

13. Internal security has now become an integral part of national security.The Union Government, in close cooperation with State Governments, has beentaking necessary steps to strengthen internal security throughout the country.Today terrorism and organized crime pose the most serious threat to internalsecurity. They also endanger our external security and our national unitybecause of their well-known links to the network of anti-India forces in ourneighbourhood. The Government therefore thought it necessary to put in place afederal law to deal effectively and expeditiously with terrorist offences. Inthis exercise, it was also guided by similar laws already in place in someStates or being considered in others. Accordingly, the Prevention of TerrorismOrdinance 2001 was promulgated on October 24, 2001. Since Parliament could notpass the Bill to replace it, this ordinance had to be re-promulgated. Whiledoing so, the Government took care to seek suggestions from various politicalparties and made suitable modifications.

14. Maintenance of communal harmony and adherence to the secular ideals ofour Constitution are the bedrock of our national ethos. I wish to record withmuch satisfaction that, in keeping with the trend in recent years, there havebeen relatively fewer incidents of communal violence in 2001. However, theGovernment will continue to maintain vigil against those who try to fomentcommunal trouble. Towards this end, it has banned some fundamentalistorganizations for their anti-national activities. I appeal to the people and toall political and non-political organizations to do everything they can tofortify peace and amity in our multi-religious society and, thereby, furtherstrengthen the bonds of national unity.

15. The Ayodhya dispute is one of the contentious issues before the Nation.Its amicable and speedy resolution is crucial for communal harmony and nationalintegration. The Government is firmly of the view that this dispute can beresolved, either through mutual agreement among all the parties concerned, orthrough a verdict of the judiciary. To facilitate a resolution of this dispute,an Ayodhya Cell has been recently created in the Cabinet Secretariat. TheGovernment of India, being the statutory receiver, is duty bound to maintain thestatus quo at the disputed site in Ayodhya. It will also ensure that allnecessary measures will be taken to ensure the preservation of law and order.

16. Peace, security, and development in the North East continue to receive myGovernment's focussed attention. Militancy and extremism are the chief obstaclesto tranquility, prosperity, and welfare in the region. The mischievous hand ofanti-India forces in the neighbourhood is clearly at work behind many of theseextremist groups. The Government will deal firmly with those who have taken tothe path of violence. However, it is ready to hold talks with all those whoreject the culture of the gun. Simultaneously, it will continue to respondsensitively to the grievances of the people in this multi-ethnic region. For thefirst time, a special Ministry for the Development of the North Eastern Regionhas been set up. The North Eastern Council has been strengthened. Tardyimplementation of various developmental projects, for which large sums have beenset aside, has long been the bane of the North East. The new Ministry has begunto reverse this state of affairs. I urge all the State Governments in the regionto fully cooperate in this endeavour.

17. The peace process in Nagaland has been strengthened with the satisfactoryprogress of talks with various militant groups. What is especially heartening inthe last one year is that the people of Nagaland have come out strongly infavour of peace, dialogue, and development, often by staging spontaneous massactivities. Mizoram has already been reaping the benefits of peace. TheGovernment will fully support the efforts of all the other North-Eastern Statesto emulate their example.

18. A healthy economy is vital to secure our twin objectives of nationalsecurity and all-round development. The slowdown in the global economy has alsoaffected India. There was a decline in the rate of growth in 2000-2001. However,the advance estimates for the current year show a pick-up in growth to 5.4percent, restoring India to the group of the five fastest growing largeeconomies in the world. However, this rate of growth is neither sufficient norsatisfactory. We need to accelerate a host of reforms to enable our economy toreach a trajectory of growth of 8 percent and above. This alone can ensuresuccess in our objective of doubling per capita income in the next ten years andreducing the number of people living below the poverty line by half. Realizingthe urgency of this task, the Government has constituted a Cabinet Committee onEconomic Reforms, with the mandate of drawing up, facilitating, and monitoringthe implementation of the reform agenda.

19. The Tenth Five-Year Plan begins this year. The Approach Paper to the Planaims at the stepping up the growth rate of GDP to 8 percent a year over the Planperiod 2002-2007. It also proposes to establish specific, monitorable targetscovering economic, social, and environmental dimensions of human development.The attainment of Plan targets is contingent on our ability to significantlyincrease the investment rate in our economy; step up the productivity ofexisting capital assets; undertake second generation policy reforms to improvethe efficiency of new investment; and facilitate and encourage a deepening andbroadening of reforms in all the States.

20. I join all of you in extending hearty congratulations to our kisans whohave once again produced a bumper crop. The output of foodgrains is projected totouch a new high of 210 million tonnes in 2001-2002, from 196 million tonneslast year. With production of 81 million tonnes of milk during 2000-2001, Indiacontinues to be the world's largest producer of dairy products. We have alsomade impressive strides in many other areas of agricultural production.

21. The Government proposes to respond to the new situation with severalmeasures to free Indian agriculture from the shackles of the past. The EssentialCommodities Act will be modified. Restrictions on inter-State movement ofagricultural commodities will be removed to enable farmers to realize betterprices. The sugar industry, which has already begun to benefit fromde-licensing, will also be fully decontrolled soon. For the first time, sugarmills have been allowed to supply ethanol to be mixed with petrol and diesel, upto five percent. This will not only result in savings in our oil imports, butalso add to the commercial viability of our sugar mills. Above all, thesugarcane farmer will be able to gain a higher price. The Government iscommitted to strengthening the cooperative sector by enabling it to reap thefull benefits of economic reforms. Timely and adequate credit is almost asimportant as timely and adequate water supply in the development of agriculture.The Government will take steps to strengthen rural credit cooperatives, whichprovide this critical input to kisans at their doorsteps, for the sake ofagricultural sustainability and farmers' well-being.

22. Food security of the poorest of the poor is the first priority of ouragricultural policy. Accordingly, the allocation of foodgrains under TargettedPublic Distribution System (TPDS) for BPL families, which was increased from 10kilos per family per month to 20 kilos per family per month from April 2000, hasbeen further increased to 25 kilos per family per month from July 2001. TheCentral Issue Price of foodgrains for APL families has also been reduced toabout seventy percent of the economic cost. In addition, more than three milliontonnes of foodgrains have been allotted to eleven States affected by drought orother natural calamities, free of cost, since January 2001 for undertaking theFood for Work programmes.

23. Wastage and losses in production, transportation, and distributioncontinue to be a major bane of the food economy in India. It is estimated thatthe harvest and post-harvest losses in agricultural commodities are over Rs.70,000 crore each year. The Government proposes to formulate a comprehensivestrategy to check these losses.

24. India's cattle wealth is one of the neglected areas of our rural economy.Last year the Government set up a "National Commission on Cattle" toreview the relevant laws relating to protection, preservation, development, wellbeing, and movement of cattle, and to ensure improved functioning of gaushalas,gausadans, and pinjarapoles. The recommendations of the Commission will be givenserious consideration.

25. Industrial growth at 2.2 percent in April-November 2001 is lower than 6percent achieved in April-November 2000. This decline in industrial growth isattributable to various factors including external slowdown, the businesscycles, inherent adjustment lags of corporate restructuring, etc. and theconsequent decline in both consumer and investment demand.

26. Despite the slowdown in certain sectors of our economy, its fundamentalscontinue to be robust. Inflation has touched a new low, the lowest in the lasttwo decades. Our foreign exchange reserves are at a record level. Foreign directinvestment has risen. Despite a hardening of international prices of petroleumproducts during the course of last year, the country's balance of paymentssituation has remained comfortable. India's exports continued to show positivegrowth. Indeed, the rate of growth in the last fiscal year was the highest inthe past decade.

27. India successfully defended her national interests at the WTO MinisterialConference in Doha last year. We coordinated with like-minded developingcountries to highlight various implementation concerns arising from the UruguayRound Agreements. We also ensured that the subsequent round of tradenegotiations would address the key concerns of the developing world.

28. The various policy reforms unveiled by the Government in the past fewyears to improve the economic environment and remove infrastructure bottleneckshave begun to show results. This is clearly seen in the crucial sector oftelecom services. I am happy to inform the Honourable Members that India nowadds one thousand telephone lines every hour. The number of cellular phonesubscribers has crossed 5.7 million from a mere 1.2 million in 1999. The numberof fixed line connections has risen to more than 36 million from 21 million in1999. Many more Indians today have access to telecom services, including inrural and remote areas. But, unbelievably, they are also paying far less thanbefore. The STD rates have fallen by up to 62 percent. Today, a farmer can makecalls to many places in his district almost at local call rates.