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| Defence Minister will not apologise |
| Defence Minister will not apologise for statement, says government
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| INDIA
, 7-August-2013
5:49:13 AM |
| Defence Minister AK Antony, who has hurtled the government into a major controversy with his statement on the killing of five Indian soldiers in Kashmir, met the Prime Minister this afternoon.
The main opposition party, the BJP, says Mr Antony owes the country an apology for letting Pakistan off the hook with the statement he made in Parliament on Tuesday. Mr Antony's party, the Congress, has ruled that out. (Track live updates)
The opposition is stressing that Mr Antony's detailing of the deadly ambush differed from the assessment of the Indian army, which initially blamed the Pakistani army for the killings.
Mr Antony told Parliament that "20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistani Army uniforms" killed the Indians after crossing the Line of Control at Poonch, 200 km south of Srinagar. (Read full text of statement)
"Our defence minister has given a clean chit to Pakistan," Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the opposition, said in the Lok Sabha today. "He must apologise to the nation," she said.
The uproar forced Parliament temporarily to adjourn.
The Defence Minister later said he "made the statement on basis of whatever information" he had and promised to update Parliament after the Army Chief General Bikram Singh visits Kashmir.
The Pakistan government has denied any links to the attack.
Sources in the Congress say the PM will inform senior BJP leaders at a meeting this evening that despite their urging, he will not alter plans to hold talks next month with the newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The leaders are likely to hold separate talks at the UN General Assembly session in New York next month.
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