PM warns Pakistan on terror

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today warned Pakistan that the consensus among Indians seeking peace and friendship with Pakistan would be undermined if it did not stop cross-border terrorism.

He also warned that naxalism went against the grain of India's democratic tradition and asked young men to give up guns. However, he admitted that sources of terrorism were both foreign and domestic.

Speaking on the 60th anniversary of India's independence from the Red Fort, the prime minister also warned other countries about the dangers of fomenting terrorism.

In his address to the nation on the occasion, Singh said: "The going has never been as good for India in the past as it is now" but the challenges of poverty, hunger and denial of healthcare continued to occupy centrestage.

The nation, he said, should be worried about farmers being unable to get a decent livelihood and ensure rehabilitation of those displaced by big projects.

"Globalisation certainly has its benefits; but it can also hurt the common man," Singh said.

The prime minister referred to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Bharat Nirman programmes as two projects that would bring new hope to villagers and the poor.

Recalling that he had promised a new deal to rural India, Singh said the government had almost doubled agricultural credit in less than three years, facilitated short-term loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest, given an interest waiver package to debt-stressed farmers in Vidarbha and other places where suicides have been extensive, and provided for institutional credit to every farmer who needed it through cooperative banking

However, he said special attention was needed in rain-fed areas and for dry-land agriculture. "We will need to work towards ensuring more remunerative prices for our farmers," the prime minister said. He also said in the next few months, concrete measures would be devised to help farmers overcome debt.

Admitting that prices had been going up, Singh said this was natural when farmers got a better price for their produce. "We need to understand that if we want better prices for farmers so that they earn a better livelihood, the prices of what they produce and sell will have to go up!"

Singh repeatedly referred to corruption and the role the Right to Information Act would play in removing it, not just from municipalities, but from all walks of life. He also emphasised how the Act would impact delivery of public services.

Skirting controversies about quotas, Singh said a mission on vocational education would be launched so that the skill deficit in the economy was addressed. He said while reservations would continue, access to educational opportunities would be increased.

Significantly, while he spoke of the gains of the peace process on both sides of the Line of Control, Singh referred to terrorism as a problem that was both domestic and exported from Pakistan.

He emphasised his government's gains in foreign policy but did not refer to the contentious Indo-US civil nuclear energy deal. Singh echoed the President's remarks that "rule of law can become a reality only if justice is seen to be delivered and the rights of law-abiding citizens are protected".