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Vajpayee has national support, says BJP president

Bharatiya Janata Party President Kushabhau Thakre today said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has national support on his historic bus ride to Pakistan, but knotty problems with the neighbours could not be solved overnight.

Talking to reporters at Rajasansi Airport in Amristar waiting for the arrival of the air force aircraft carrying the prime minister, Thakre declined to comment on the Kashmir issue beyond saying "our land is in their possession."

Asked if Vajpayee's visit had become necessary after the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan at Pokhran and Chagai, the BJP national president quipped, "It is part of our national agenda to solve outstanding problems with Pakistan through talks.

"There are two ways to solve problems, one is war and the other is talk," he said adding the BJP-led coalition has adopted the second path in consonance with the national agenda.

Thakre said he has come to see off the prime minister who is on a path-breaking mission.

"I will go to Wagah to see him off on the goodwill mission. It is symbolic of the BJP's endorsement of the initiative taken by Atalji.

"We cannot give any direction to Atalji, but we wish him well, he added.

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