Raipur: Launching a somewhat belligerent broadside against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on July 18, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said he was not responding positively to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's initiatives to normalise relations between the two countries.

In his inaugural speech on the first day of the party's three-day national executive meeting, BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu said the lack of a positive response from Pakistan and Musharraf's recent pronouncements abroad indicated Islamabad's ''anti-India agenda.''

Musharraf, Naidu claimed, was engaged in an uphill battle with democratic forces in his country. Pakistani society wanted all issues with India to be resolved through bilateral talks, but this did not find favour with the political establishment, he added.

The government's decision not to send troops to Iraq was lauded and Vajpayee was complimented for his path-breaking visit to China in June.

On the domestic front, the BJP reiterated that it would highlight the foreigner's issue in the Assembly elections and in next year's general elections should the Congress party project its president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate.

The BJP also asked the government to launch a crusade against subsidies given by the West to their farmers and encourage a level-playing field for domestic entrepreneurs.

"Our industry must have a level playing field in terms of freedom from regulation, cost of capital and cost of utility. The government must pursue accelerated development of infrastructure," the draft economic resolution under discussion at the meeting said.

Emphasising the importance of the agricultural sector, the resolution demanded that the farmer be provided adequate security against uncertainties and a remunerative price for his produce.

"Government must continue to champion the cause of India's farmers by crusading against subsidies being provided by developing countries," the resolution added.

ANI