India has surrendered under int'l pressure, says BJP

Terming as "sheer betrayal" and "U-turn" India's agreement with Pakistan that terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process, BJP said on Friday that the government has "surrendered under international pressure".

Terming as "sheer betrayal" and "U-turn" India's agreement with Pakistan that terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process, BJP said on Friday that the government has "surrendered under international pressure".

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"We will strongly oppose this (the joint statement by India and Pakistan delinking terrorism from composite dialogue). India has surrendered under international pressure ... We staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha on the issue. Under no circumstances will BJP compromise on this," Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told reporters.

Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar also said, "This step by India has come as a shock. It is sheer betrayal and U-turn by the government. They are buckling under international pressure."

Swaraj said her party position is that once terrorism is taken out of the dialogue process, it could no longer be called "composite".

"The dialogue ceases to be composite the moment terrorism is removed from it...We call it composite as economic issues, trade relations and cultural ties are discussed along with terrorism.

"If terrorism is set aside, then how does the dialogue become composite? It ceases to be composite as a composite dialogue has to be all-pervasive," she said.

"We will oppose this move by the government," Swaraj added.