New Delhi, July 17 - With the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protesting against the 'capitulation' to Pakistan on cross-border terror, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted Friday that there was 'no dilution in India's stand on terrorism' and underlined that 'meaningful dialogue' will depend on Islamabad taking action against the 26/11 attackers.
In a statement in parliament Monday within hours of his return from attending the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt, Manmohan Singh said engagement is 'the only way forward' to realise the 'vision of a stable and prosperous South Asia', but made it clear that any 'meaningful dialogue' will depend on Islamabad fulfilling its anti-terror pledge 'in letter and spirit'.
The prime minister also said that the timing, place and form of the dialogue will depend on 'future developments' and underlined that India was willing to go 'more than half way provided Pakistan creates the conditions for a meaningful dialogue'.
'Whether, when and in what form we broaden the dialogue with Pakistan will depend on future developments,' Manmohan Singh told Lok Sabha about his meeting Thursday with his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
'For the present, we have agreed that the foreign secretaries will meet as often as necessary and report to the two foreign ministers, who will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly,' he said in identical statements in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
'I hope that there is forward movement in the coming months,' he said.
Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani led a walkout of BJP members from the Lok Sabha in protest against Manmohan Singh's statement, saying it compromised India's position on the sensitive issue of cross-border terrorism.
'You have delinked terrorism and the composite dialogue. Why have you taken seven months (after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks) to decide on this?' Advani asked, adding: 'We will have a structural debate, but as a mark of protest I would like my party to walk out to this capitulation.'
The prime minister, however, vigorously defended his position, saying: 'It's not a dilution of our stand. It's a strengthening of our stand.'
Pakistan must take effective against terrorists regardless of these processes that may lead to the resumption of the dialogue, he told the Rajya Sabha after reading out the statement in the Lok Sabha.
The BJP response was subdued in the Rajya Sabha, with Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley accusing Manmohan Singh of 'breach of trust'.