By IANS
New Delhi : There is no threat to India’s sovereignty and integrity from the US or any other country, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said Tuesday, allaying the Left parties’ apprehension.
“However, our Left friends also have a point. They have a history of opposing the US and they have a case there,” he told reporters, replying to queries on the India-US civil nuclear deal.
“There was a time when all of us opposed the WTO, predicting the second coming of East India Company. But we have seen how Indian business has flourished and India has prospered with foreign markets opening to Indian goods.
“All the apprehensions expressed by the Left are exaggerated,” said the chief of the LJP, a constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
“I understand the Left commitment and their stand. It is not a new stand. Whatever it may be, we must address the Left concerns. That is why in a UPA meeting all leaders expressed full confidence in the leadership of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but a line was specifically added saying ‘We must address the Left concerns’,” recalled Paswan.
Paswan was speaking to the media after the conclusion of a minority conference organised by his party here.
The conference demanded immediate implementation of the Sachar committee report on the socio-economic condition of the Muslim community and the Sri Krishna report on the communal violence in Mumbai in 1992-93. It also sought a law to try cases of communal violence in fast-track courts.
Paswan also demanded compensation to all riot victims on the pattern of the compensation paid to the victims of anti-Sikh violence in 1984. He also asked the government to provide adequate employment to Muslims in the armed forces, paramilitary forces and police.