New Delhi, Aug 8: The BJP said Thursday it had conveyed to the government that the killing of five soldiers by Pakistani troops would impact India's foreign policy and wanted the government to examine “other options” in its relations with Islamabad.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said the party was “glad” that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had tried to correct the “monumental error” in the statement of Defence Minister A.K. Antony on the Aug 6 incident.
Speaking to Times Now television channel, Jaitley said during Wednesday evening's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the party had “explained to the government the impact of the monumental error...and I am glad that they tried to correct the error”.
Antony, in a fresh statement in parliament Thursday, said that specialist troops of the Pakistan Army were involved in the killing of five Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir two days ago.
The defence minister was under attack from the opposition for his earlier statement where he said that "20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons in Pakistan Army uniform" were responsible for the killings.
Jaitley also clarified that the BJP, which has been demanding that the government give a “befitting reply” to Pakistan, were “not warmongers”.
“We are not warmongers... between war and embracing Pakistan there are several options, and we have made our point clear to the government,” said Jaitley.
The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said the fresh statement by Antony reflected that “it can't be business as usual” with Pakistan.
Explaining what the BJP meant by other options, Jaitley said “not talking (to Pakistan) is an option, not talking for some time is another option, talking at a low level is also an option.. The government can examine the options”.
"This incident (the killings) will have a foreign policy impact," he said.
