Says govt will have zero tolerance on terror
Agencies
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday disapproved of comments of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed giving credit to Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants for smooth conduct of Assembly polls, saying such a statement cannot be supported.
"If somebody makes such a statement, we can never support it," Modi said in Rajya Sabha, referring to the controversial remarks made by Sayeed who is heading a PDP-BJP coalition government in the state.Members have been demanding Modi's response to the remarks made by Sayeed soon after he was sworn-in on Sunday.
"If somebody makes a statement somewhere and we are forced to respond here, things will not work," the Prime Minister said.
He asserted that his government "will move ahead with the policy of 'zero tolerance' towards terrorism" and "all resolutions passed here (in Parliament) will be implemented in letter and spirit."
Modi said the credit for the successful elections goes to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who "removed doubts" in the international community by turning up in large numbers with "overwhelming courage and pride" and "put their stamp of approval on what India had been saying all along".
He underlined faith in people of Jammu and Kashmir while asserting his government's commitment to unity and integrity.
On questions by some members whether BJP will pull out of the coalition government over the issue, Modi said the government will run only on the basis of Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
"I want to assure this House and 125 crore people of the country that the government formed in Jammu and Kashmir is based on the Common Minimum Programme and the government will run on its basis," he said while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.
These are the other highlights from his speech:
*More than the party we belong to, it is about the state that we represent in this House
*In a democracy, threats do not and cannot work. For 14 years in Gujarat, I was threatened with jail
We do not feel that just because we are in the treasury benches we know it all. Everyone has to work together
*I had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Every government, every PM has contributed in taking this country forward.
*Governments do not run this country, it is the people of India who do
*We don't think that the birth of the nation took place on August 15, 1947. It happened thousands of years before that.
*UPA accuses us of renaming schemes, they renamed NDA's schemes
*Go from Kutch to Arunachal Pradesh, and you'll see it is represented by BJP in this House. There was a time when people thought this was a party from the Hindi belt.
*BJP is in power in Goa and Nagaland which have predominantly Christian voters. The BJP is in Punjab which has a majority Sikh population. It is part of the government in Jammu and Kashmir which has large number of Muslims.
*There was a time when people said this was a party of the upper castes, after seeing me those people may have had to change their views.
*The perceptions you talk about are very old; BJP isn't an upper caste or Hindi-belt party
*This Swachhata Abhiyaan, is this for corporates? Can we not provide basic cleanliness facilities to the common man?
*When we build toilets in schools is this for corporates? Is soil health card for corporates?
*Opposition accuses us of transferring IAS officers. In 2004, UPA removed all the secretaries and governors as soon as it came to power
* We are moving towards mobile governance.
