New Delhi, Sept. 18: A day after BJP president Rajnath Singh dismissed the India-Pakistan joint mechanism to fight terror as a “fig leaf” for Delhi to cover the “concessions” being made to Islamabad, the party rushed to make amends.

Arun Jaitley was fielded to voice the party’s position on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Havana on the sidelines of the NAM summit. He stressed that the deliberations in the Cuban capital are indicative of a significant policy shift from the January 6, 2004, pact between the two countries, but refused to comment on the joint mechanism.

“The party’s view of the joint mechanism would be presented when full details of the agreement are made available,” Jaitley said.

Rajnath’s statement yesterday was in complete contrast. “The government seems to have forgotten the faces of the terror victims of Mumbai and elsewhere. The proposed joint mechanism appears to be a fig leaf to cover the concessions made to Pakistan in regard to the resumption of talks,” he had said.

However, Jaitley presented his argument as an extension of the BJP chief’s comment. “The party president had made a statement on the issue yesterday. To elaborate the point, the party feels that there has been a significant shift in the stand of the Indian government on the relationship between Pakistan and terrorism,” he said.

Jaitley accused the UPA government of failing to carry forward the spirit of the 2004 agreement, in which Pakistan had pledged not to allow any part of its territory to be used for promoting terrorism.

The BJP leader listed three broad points of departure:

The tone of the Havana negotiations indicate India is drawing a distinction between the Pakistan government and the activities of the ISI

The government has been endorsing Pakistan’s traditional response that terror groups are autonomous, i.e. independent of Islamabad’s control

Pakistan, too, is a victim of terrorism.

“The PM clearly indicted Pakistan after the Mumbai blasts. Only a month has passed since then and the language has changed. Now we get to hear that Pakistan, too, is a victim of terrorism and we are endorsing their view that the Pakistan state has nothing to do with the activities of the terror groups that operate from that country,” Jaitley said.

He demanded a clarification from the government on why the shift in stand has come about. “It is a serious issue and we hope the government will understand the concerns of the Opposition,” he said.