Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday said India was opposed to a war on Iraq.

But in case of one, "our efforts would be to protect the country's [India] interests", he said at the BJP parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi.

The statement came a day after an all-party meeting ended without any consensus on a parliamentary resolution against any unilateral US action against Iraq.

The prime minister also talked about the performance of the National Democratic Alliance government and thanked all its partners for running it "successfully".

"The credit for this should also go to Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and party president Venkaiah Naidu," he said.

During the remaining period of the government's tenure, the prime minister said, "we would have to continue working to ensure that the current momentum is kept up".

"It is historic that this government has been able to complete its term of five years and all credit should go to Vajpayee," Advani said at the meeting.

Naidu said the party would launch a mass contact programme from March 19 to April 6 to highlight the achievements of the government.