camps. It has been our policy that the representatives of other countries, the Ambassadors of other countries, Members of Parliament from other countries and pressmen should freely go and see the refugees. And I can tell you that any person who has gone, any foreigner who has gone, and has had a look at the refugee camps and seen the misery writ large on the faces of people, has returned a different person altogether, and there is nothing for us to hide there and I do not see why there should be any objection to any Ambassador of any country going to the refugee camps and seeing for himself the plight of refugees and also the tale of woe which they recite and which can also be read from their condition. I strongly reject the suggestion that while dealing with the United States we are adopting another attitude than the one warranted by the circumstances. We have told the United States Government, their representatives at all levels, of the strength of our feeling and we have also pointed out in unmistakable terms that the continued US supply of arms to Pakistan in the present conditions is not only encouraging and helping the military rulers to carry on their atrocities against the unarmed people of Bangladesh, but it also makes Pakistan more intransigent, more bellicose, and as such it affects our security also. We have all along taken this stand that any supply of arms to Pakistan by any country amounts to encouraging Pakistan to carryon Pakistan's policy of confrontation against India and thus this is a matter which affects our security. This is a perhaps what the honorable Member was suggesting. We have already done that. Then he has made a suggestion that there should be a special Cabinet meeting. I would like to assure Mr. Bhupesh Gupta that Cabinet meetings do take place from time to time and it is hardly a matter in which Parliament as such should make any suggestion. We can always meet at the shortest notice. We have met on several occasions. We have discussed in the Cabinet and in the various sub-committees of the Cabinet this issue almost on a continuous basis I would like to assure Mr. Bhupesh Gupta and the House that this is a matter of the highest importance which is constantly under discussion and under review the Government at all levels.
I would like to assure him that we attach the highest importance to this question.
Lastly he raised the question of recognition. This has got nothing to do with the present Calling Attention.
Shri Lokanath Misra: I am surprised at the suggestion of Shri Bhupesh Gupta. He suggested the recall of our Ambassador in USA. If anybody has failed in his task, it is not the Ambassador, but it is his friend Sardar Swaran Singh.
Sardar Swaran Singh: I am your friend also.
Shri Lokanath Misra: Now this shows where the shoe pinches. I thought that from the public posture shows by Shri Bhupesh Gupta they were not in collusion yet. But by his suggestion to recall the Ambassador, I got the impression that Shri Bhupesh Gupta is still hand in glove with the congress because he does not want any of the Ministers to resign for their failures. He does not want the Prime Minister to resign on this issue. He only wants to recall the Ambassador from Washington.
Sardar Swaran Singh: That is your privilege. You can very irresponsibly ask others to resign. That is the privilege of your Party.
