Vaishali (Bihar): Asking political parties to sink differences when it comes to the nation's progress, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (Feb 10, 2004) said that Government was committed to find a lasting solution to tackle natural calamities like flood and drought.

"Parties apne jagah hai, lekin desh sarvopreya (Parties have their respective places but country is supreme)," he told a huge gathering while laying the foundation for the 150 kms railway line between Hajipur and Sagauli in Bihar.

He said it should be borne in mind that the international community weighed India only as a nation and the parties and people factor this in and not think in terms of individual States.

"Centre is important," he said and stressed, "The country's interest has to be above every thing else."

Vajpayee said the parties should forget their differences when it comes to the question of the nation's progress and development.

"We are taking measures to effectively overcome the twin problems of floods and drought," he said, adding the plans are being drawn to interlink the major rivers of the country.

Vajpayee also took a pot-shot at the Opposition ruled States for not properly utilising the development funds and said the Centre would have been happy if they had been used in a better manner.

He said if the road development work had been taken up in a bigger way in the past, a lot of economic progress would have been achieved by now.