The Congress, an electoral ally of the SP in this year's Parliamentary election, has remarked that his statement is not in the national interest. Dalit leader and grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Prakash Ambedkar, feels a soft loan would be a better alternative.

But the most vitriolic criticism came from Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who, in a statement in the party mouthpiece Saamna, said that if Yadav continues with such anti-national demands, nationalist citizens will not hesitate to set such politicians ablaze. Thackeray observed that Yadav's statement was a gimmick aimed at winning the sympathies of Muslims on the eve of the forthcoming Assembly elections.

At a public rally organised by the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha at Shivaji Park on September 13,the former Union defence minister urged the Atal Behari Vajpayee government to extend financial assistance amounting to Rs 2,000 crore to Pakistan, which is floundering amid its worst ever economic crisis.

Justifying his suggestion, Yadav said Pakistan is, after all, a neighbouring country which has been in dire need of economic aid following the nuclear tests conducted in May.

In his statement in Saamna, Thackeray said after financial assistance, Yadav might even demand a second Partition of the country, which the Sena will not tolerate. ``I shall give a fitting reply to Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad Yadav at the party's Dassera rally at the same venue,'' Thackeray added.Says Congress spokesperson Vasant Chavan: ``Our alliance with the Samajwadi Party during the Lok Sabha election was at the state level. At the national level, Mulayam Singh had not discussed the proposal with AICC leaders or top party functionaries.''

There is no doubt that India and Pakistan need to improve their relations, but by nomeans should India extend monetary assistance to achieve this objective. ``At a juncture when Pakistan is aiding terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, how can we help that country financially?'' Chavan asked.Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Congress had left three seats for the SP and four for the Republican Party of India (RPI). However, all the SP nominees lost, albeit by a narrow margin, while all the RPI candidates were elected.

Senior RPI leader Prakash Ambedkar said India could extend a soft loan instead of a grant to that country help combat fundamentalist and terrorist forces there. The proliferation of these forces could increase the influx of people from across the border to India in the event that anarchy erupts in Pakistan. In such an eventuality, India would have to spend Rs 10,000 crore to tackle the problem of immigrants, he explained.