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There is a marginal decline in cross-border infiltration after the assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister George Fernandes said in Bangalore on Tuesday.
"But there is no material change insofar as border tension is concerned," Fernandes told rediff.com on the sidelines of a conference on the plight of coffee growers in south India.
He said the hostile attitude of Pakistan towards India is a matter of concern.
Commenting on the withdrawal of the Special Operations Group by the newly elected coalition government in J&K, he said it was one of the promises that the ruling People's Democratic Party had made during electioneering last month.
"Insofar as the presence of army is concerned, there is no change on that count, and its deployment on the border with Pakistan continues. Only the outfits belonging to the state are being disbanded and not the central forces," Fernandes stated.
Asked about the Samata Party's decision to go alone in the ensuing Gujarat polls, Fernandes said the party's state unit has its own point of view, but no final decision has been taken.
"The party's national committee will meet soon to decide on its Gujarat poll strategy. If we go alone, it will not be for the first time, as we have fought such elections in other states on our own..." Fernandes, who is also the president of the Samata Party, said.
At the same time, Fernandes said the party is talking to the Bharatiya Janata Party to chalk out a poll strategy for Gujarat.
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