BJP SCOFFS AT MEDIATION TALK 

New Delhi, July 6 :     The BJP today lashed out at the Left parties for saying the joint statement issued by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US President Bill Clinton amounted to ??third-party intervention??. Describing the Left charge as ??absurd??, BJP spokesman Narendra Modi said: ??The joint statement makes it abundantly clear that all issues between India and Pakistan have to be resolved through ?bilateral dialogue?. In any event, the Vajpayee government has categorically ruled out mediation or intervention in any form by any third party.?? Modi reiterated that the military action to evict the intruders will continue until there was evidence that Pakistan had begun pulling out the forces. Scoffing at the Left charge, Modi said: ??In 1971, when Mrs Indira Gandhi went all over the world, was she seeking international mediation? She was not. Similarly, the question of international mediation or intervention in 1999 does not arise.?? Modi accused the Left and the Congress of indulging in ??cheap partisan politics at a time when the entire nation is one on achieving the objective of throwing out the Pakistani intruders??. He said the ??success?? of India?s diplomacy had ??added to India?s stature??. ??Rather than hail this success, the communists and the Congress are continuing to sing the same discordant tune of berating the government while ignoring Pakistan?s perfidy,?? he added.