I

I would like to begin by congratulating the Prime Minister on your behalf for the historic achievement on the nuclear agreement.

We had to overcome many obstacles.

You will recall that soon after the withdrawal of support by the Left parties, the Prime Minister sought a confidence vote, which we won convincingly. I take this opportunity to thank those party colleagues who worked hard for this result. I also thank our UPA allies and other parties who stood by us.

After this, the government had to negotiate with both the IAEA and the NSG. We were successful here as well, thanks to the Prime Minister's leadership and sustained efforts. The success of the negotiations is a clear vindication of his conviction, which I share, that this agreement fully protects our strategic requirements and is in the best interests of our nation and or our people.

Our country will benefit from the renewed international cooperation that the nuclear agreement will unleash. The world will also gain from our enhanced expertise.

There are economic, technological and political dimensions to this agreement.

In terms of economics, our power generating capacity will increase very substantially.

From a technology perspective, it will propel us to the forefront of research and development.

Politically, the special status of India and its capabilities in the nuclear field have finally been recognized by the world.

Now it is imperative for us to debunk the false propaganda being spread by the BJP, the left parties and other political opponents.

II

Bihar has been overtaken by a colossal tragedy. Many hundreds have perished. Lakhs of people have lost their homes, their belongings and their livelihoods.

This has caused us deep anguish.

This is not the first time that the people of Bihar have gone through such trauma. Even though this tragedy was compounded by neglect, we must work to find a long-term solution to the perennial problem of floods in this entire region.

I also want to express our grief at the loss of lives and violence in Jammu and Kashmir and in Orissa on account of the political and social disturbances there.

In recent years there ha been a marked increased in development in Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister's Reconstruction Package, and programmes and initiatives at the State level, were making a decisive impact. Normalcy had returned, a fact borne by the strong revival in tourism, for instance.

That the situation should have taken such a painful turn is a matter of deep anguish. I hope that the recent settlement on the Amarnath Yatra will lead to a return of a peaceful atmosphere.

Let me categorically state that the people of all regions of Jammu and Kashmir are part of India. If any section feels alienated, it is incumbent upon us to deal with it most sensitively.

I also unequivocally reject the notion of a further division of J&K which has been advocated by the RSS. . there is also no question of pandering to or being "soft" on the separatists.

III

We are also meeting against the backdrop of growing and deliberate communalization in different parts of the country.

What we are witnessing in states like Orissa most recently is a carefully orchestrated ploy by the BJP and its sister organizations to inflame religious prejudices and passions. This has been their strategy all along.

Every time their position is weakened, every time elections are around the corner the BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal and the VHP launch into a most vicious communal campaign to divide and polarize society, with no regard to loss of lives and livelihoods.

This is a big challenge before us as a party : to expose their mischievous designs and combat their malicious propaganda.

We need to go out and reaffirm the simple truth that unless we work hard to sustain our secular ethos, we jeopardize our social fabric, our social cohesion and, indeed, our country's future.

We give no quarter to those who wage war on our country, be they terrorists or secessionists. But we must also never under-estimate the long-term damage that is caused by communal and parochial forces of any kind that invite hatred willfully and cynically provoke violence. At stake here is the very unity and integrity of India.

It is a basic Constitutional and ideological obligation for us to ensure that each and every citizen is able to lead a life of security and dignity.