Opposition may turn the heat on Govt.

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 31. The Government will have a tough time explaining its handling of the hijack crisis. This was evident from the reaction of the Opposition parties at an all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, here this evening.

Only two of the Opposition leaders - Dr. Manmohan Singh of the Congress(I) and Mr. Kanshi Ram of the Bahujan Samaj Party - attended the meeting convened at short notice. Their reaction was one of complete disapproval of the handling of the crisis.

Emerging from the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior Congress(I) leader, Dr. Manmohan Singh, said ``we are naturally relieved and happy that the passengers have been released, but the nation would have to ponder over the consequences of terrorism''.

The majority of the Opposition representatives were away from the national capital and, therefore, did not attend the meeting. The Congress(I) president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, was originally scheduled to attend the meeting, but decided against it when it was realised that the other parties would not be present.

The Prime Minister briefed the two leaders on the circumstances under which the Government was forced to agree to the release three hardcore militants in exchange for the hostages. He told the leaders that the release of the militants was the only feasible option under the circumstances.

The BSP president was highly critical of the approach of the Government in resolving the crisis and said it was a reflection of its total failure. He said the Government would have to answer a number of questions beginning with its failure to hold up the aircraft at Amritsar.

Earlier, the Congress(I) expressed consternation at the Government's decision to free three top-ranking terrorists and warned that the step would have serious and far-reaching implications. The Government's action had sent the message that it could succumb to terrorists.

Speaking on behalf of the party, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee feared that the entire law-enforcing machinery in Kashmir would be rendered ``a lame duck'' at a time when Pakistan was carrying on a proxy war against India. ``National interest does not mean surrendering to the demands of terrorists,'' he said. He added that if the Government's decision was faulty, then the country would have to suffer.

Mr. Mukherjee expressed happiness at the release of the hostages, but added that it was ``still inexplicable'' why the Government had failed to act when the hijacked plane was in Amritsar. Its explanation had been unsatisfactory and these questions would come up in course of time.

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