Rejecting suggestions that dialogue with Pakistan should not be held till terrorism emanating from there ends, government today said that not holding talks does not change the behaviour of the enemy and that foreign policy cannot be decided by "emotion".
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon apparently targeted BJP for opposing talks with Pakistan, saying the Manmohan Singh government has pursued real politik as did the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government while dealing with the neighbour.
He invoked Sardar Patel to make a veiled attack on BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by saying "I still hope that those, who are so quick to claim Patel's mantle but who fail to do him justice and actually diminish and distort him, will learn his lesson" on foreign policy.
"India's policies abroad cannot be decided by emotion or sentiment, no matter how noble or appealing, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty abroad. And most important, they should share his faith in India, in Indians and in our capabilities which have brought us so far since Patel's time," Menon said delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial lecture organised by All India Radio here.
"When 40 self-styled experts and some political groups say do not talk to Pakistan until ideal conditions exist and all terrorism stops, it betrays a lack of self confidence. This is precisely what the terrorists and their sponsors in the Pakistani establishment want," he said.
His comments assume significance as these came about a fortnight after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had met his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of UN General Assembly despite strong opposition by BJP and some others.
