Taking a subtle dig at the economic policy hardliners, he said: ``There is an apprehension in the minds of people that the Government is buckling under foreign pressure. This is wrong. We have the capability to withstand any pressure, as is evident by our decision to go in for the Pokhran nuclear tests. We were aware of its international fallout, but preferred to accord top priority to the nation's security.''

The Prime Minister was inaugurating the Swadeshi Mela organised by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and Sangh Parivar-affiliated outfits like the Centre for Bhartiya Marketing Development and Laghu Udyog Bharati.

Vajpayee also referred to persistent rumours about the imminent arrival of the East India Company. ``There is no substance in these allegations. The foreign power could then enslaveIndia because we were divided. Today, we are one, ready to face any challenge,'' he said.

He then imparted the parting shot. ``I know my decision to inaugurate the Swadeshi Mela has caused a lot of ripples. People who are running the Swadeshi Jagran Manch are all my friends,'' he said, adding, ``We'll seek their help wherever possible. In areas where our views don't meet, we'll just say sorry. We may have differences of opinion, but our goals are the same.''

Sharing the dias with S Gurumurthy of the manch, a vociferous critic of the Government's decisions like the opening up the insurance sector and the patents bill, Vajpayee said the world was eying the big Indian market with a large middle class, but the country's interests had to be protected first. He stressed that no one could pressurise a nation of 100 crore people united under one flag.

The Prime Minister assured that the small-scale sector, which employed the largest number of people and earned the maximum foreign exchange, would be given allthe support it needed. He agreed with Gurumurthy's suggestion that there should be more interaction with the sector.

Vajpayee regretted that efforts were made to snatch the protection given to the small sector. He said the sector had all the excellence but owing to lack of publicity, it did not get the market it deserved.

Criticising the policies pursued during the last fifty years, he said they had created many distortions and a lot of effort was be needed to correct them. A great nation like India should have its own model of development, he added.

Emphasising the need to generate one's own resources, Vajpayee said that the country could not afford to depend on foreign resources to achieve self-reliance.

Earlier, criticising the liberalisation policies, Gurumurthy said that the pillars of the system like Japan and Korea, and even the US, had begun asking the question whether the model they had forced on the world was sustainable.

He said that India was in a position to generate its own model butthe lacuna was that the English-educated people who dominated the decision-making process lacked confidence. He added that the gap between Bharat and India had to be bridged.

Gurumurthy said that the country needed reforms but the question was what was relevant for it. He said there should be a fundamental debate on reforms.

Mela starts with a bang

The union government-blessed swadeshi Mela kicked-off on Monday with a distinct saffron hue and a hi-profile inauguration ceremony attended by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, a host of union ministers including L K Advani, Pramod Mahajan, Madal Lal Khurana, MPs and bureaucrats.

Saffron-coloured banners and khadi-clad volunteers of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the moving force behind the mela, swarmed the sprawling Pragati Maidan.

Though the atmosphere was charged raising of slogans such as "Jai Bharat Mata, Jai Swadeshi" during the inauguration ceremony, the exhibitors were guarded over their expectations of the public response to themela.