No space for Hurriyat leaders in India-Pak dialogue, says Advani

BJP patriarch and former deputy prime minister L K Advani on Monday reiterated his party’s stand on Pakistan inviting hurriyat leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for talks.

“If we have reached any understanding with them (PDP), we have made it amply clear that there could be no talks at the cost of India’s integrity. We cannot tolerate that,” Advani told mediapersons at Bakrana village near Sanand.

“They (Pakistan) will have to respect our view and endorse our stand (that separatists cannot be involved in talks),” he added.

The 88-year-old MP from Gandhinagar was here to adopt Bakrana village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

The village, located about 50 km from Ahmedabad city, has a population of approximately 3,000.

Advani now wants to ensure construction of at least one toilet for each household. “It is shameful for us that our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives have to go out in open to defecate after so many years of getting independence,” Advani told villagers gathered to welcome him.

Other than building toilets in the village, about 15-km from Sanand town, that gathered fame for housing Tata Nano plant, Advani also plans to spend money on strengthening infrastructure in the village.

“We shall study what the villagers want, whether it is better drinking water facilities, better drainage system, better anganwadi or better electricity.

“I shall allocate funds under MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) scheme accordingly,” Advani told the gathering.

Other than Advani’s funds, corporates from nearby Sanand, too, have been roped in to help with development activities in the region.

Bosch Rexroth, a global auto ancillary firm that has a plant in Sanand, handed over a cheque of Rs 4.5 lakh for the development activities in Bakrana.

“We have been in India for over four decades and in Sanand for two-and-a-half years. This is our way of thanking the communities in villages nearby our facility,” Dr Johannes Thomas Grobe, managing director, Bosch Rexroth (India) Ltd told Deccan Herald after the event.

Other than Bosch, team Advani also hopes to involve another global auto giant, Ford, in development work in the area.

“Ford will contribute by way of its expertise in various areas,” a local BJP worker said.