India asserts support for Palestinian statehood

Notwithstanding its friendly relations with Israel, Vajpayee asserted India's principled stand on Palestine and said, "We continue to champion the cause of the Arab world."

"An independent Palestinian state should be established, those who have been uprooted should be resettled and violence must stop," he said at an community reception hosted in New York by India's Ambassador to US, Lalit Mansingh.

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Violence is no solution to any problem, and "whatever is happening there, we are against it," said Vajpayee, who is also expected to refer to the West Asia crisis in his address to United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

Vajpayee praised Congress President Sonia Gandhi for meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when he visited India, ignoring the boycott call by some of her supportive political parties and the Third Front.

This was a good gesture on the part of Sonia Gandhi, he said. She has carried out her responsibility as Leader of the Opposition by meeting Sharon and "I thanked her," said Vajpayee.

Deploring the demonstrations and the boycott call, Vajpayee said that Sharon was a guest of India and he should have been welcomed by all.

Vajpayee said that when he was in the Opposition, he respected the convention that political parties should not politicise foreign policy and this should continue.

He said that among those opposed to Sharon's visit were some former prime ministers.

He also appreciated Sonia Gandhi for enquiring about him when terrorists attacked Parliament on September 3, 2001.

Soon after the strike, everyone enquired about each other, and Sonia Gandhi called him to find out where he was. "I informed her that I was at home and was getting ready to go to Parliament. I also enquired about her and she said she was speaking from home. This is the beauty of India's democracy."