PM expresses concern over infighting

RAISAR: BJP���s current troubles evoked some sympathy from unlikely quarters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remarked that the situation in the party is ���not good��� and said, ���It is BJP���s internal matter but stability in political parties is most necessary in a democracy. Otherwise, it will have an impact on the country.���

Though ostensibly meant to be an expression of concern, the comment is likely to make more than a few in BJP squirm as the saffron outfit has often talked of its organisational discipline. The impression has been totally marred by the factionalism in the BJP which has played out in the public eye.

The PM has, however, chosen to avoid taking any digs at the BJP���s expense, something that will stand out all the more given the Opposition party���s attack on him for being a ���weak��� PM.

Singh, in Barmer to inaugurate Cairn India���s oilfield at Mangla, was speaking to reporters at Raisar, about 60 km from Barmer. He spoke on a variety of subjects, including Pokhran-II, the Kandahar controversy and expressed serious concern over the drought situation.

On the Pokhran-II tests, he said that former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who spearheaded the nuclear programme, has said that the tests were successful. ���A wrong impression has been given by some scientists but the controversy is needless,��� he said. He also felt that the controversy over Kandahar was ���needless���. Asked if L K Advani had been aware of the release of the terrorists, he said: ���How can I comment on that. I was not there.���