Balbir K Punj
As the Budget Session of Parliament, the first major business session after the Lok Sabha poll, draws to a close, the lustre of the UPA’s election victory is already fading. The unbelievable India-Pakistan joint statement that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inked in Egypt last month is only one of the several areas in which the Government has goofed up.
Mr Singh invoked the legacy of his predecessor, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to justify the Sharm el-Sheikh disaster. However, Mr Vajpayee’s strategy vis-à-vis Pakistan was vastly different. Within days of the NDA Government coming to power in 1998, Mr Vajpayee demonstrated great political acumen. By carrying out the nuclear tests in Pokhran, he announced to the world that India had graduated from being a first generation to a second generation nuclear power.
It was only after demonstrating India’s nuclear capability that Mr Vajpayee initiated his ‘bus diplomacy’ with Pakistan. Later, it was only after completely routing the Pakistani forces in Kargil sector that he invited Gen Pervez Musharraf for the Agra summit. Here too Mr Vajpayee did not yield an inch, which disappointed Gen Musharraf as his book In the Line of Fire very clearly mentions.
Similarly, after the ISI-sponsored attack on our Parliament House complex, for almost two years Mr Vajpayee refused to shake hands with the Pakistani President, so much so that Gen Musharraf was forced to offer a handshake at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu. Also, for two years the NDA Government kept the Pakistani Army on the edge by launching Operation Parakram. Finally, Mr Vajpayee eased the pressure on Pakistan but only after the latter’s national security chief agreed to relent on the terrorism issue.
Therefore, simply invoking Mr Vajpayee’s legacy of statesmanship will not help the UPA Government undo the damage it has already done in Sharm el-Sheikh. Soon after the joint statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani milked the Balochistan issue that India had conceded, and told the Pakistani media that he had made New Delhi agree to delink the dialogue process from action on terrorism.
The fundamental position of Pakistan has not changed despite the cosmetic measures that Islamabad has of late undertaken to please its American bosses. There is no denying that terrorism continues to be used as an instrument of state policy by Pakistan vis-à-vis India. Pakistani terrorist organisations keep the entire Indian security establishment engaged at all times. What could be a better proxy for the Pakistani Army?
Therefore, Islamabad will never dismantle the terrorist camps operating from its soil. The on-going Pakistani Army operation against the Taliban is different because these jihadis are a threat to Pakistan itself. Rest assured, terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba will remain insulated from any such crackdown.
Back home the Government is facing flak on various domestic issues. Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is already backpedalling on his proposal to have a single secondary school board for all States. Further, the dispute over natural gas pricing has invited the criticism that the Government is being partisan in its handling of this important issue. This criticism has been so effective that the Government has had to amend its stand on the matter in the Supreme Court.
The Government has also had to backtrack on several other issues. For instance, after welcoming the Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexuality, it now says that it wants to reconsider its stand. Its ally, the Trinamool Congress, has also forced it to rethink the land acquisition Bill, while the DMK is refusing to go along with the Government on divestment, at least as far as PSUs in Tamil Nadu are concerned. Union Telecom Minister A Raja hasn’t helped the Government’s image either. He continues to embarrass the Government with his shenanigans.
The severity of the power crisis nationwide, the shadow of drought looming large over many parts of the country, and the spurt in food grain, pulse and vegetable prices even though inflation is in negative, do not provide a rosy picture of the Government in charge. Even before recovery from the economic downturn has firmed up, there is talk of inflation raising its ugly head again.
The Government’s chicanery on the issue of declaration of assets by our judges has been well and truly exposed. After introducing the relevant Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Government quietly withdrew it when the Opposition saw through its gameplan to shield the judges.
And finally, to cap it all, the Maoist menace plaguing many States of the country flies in the face of all the brave talk by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Two months in office may be too short a time to judge a Government. But the omens are worrying. This Government is virtually no different from the previous regime which was in power from 2004 to May 2009. That is a lot of time to show results, or obfuscate issues.
-- punjbk@gmail.com
As the Budget Session of Parliament, the first major business session after the Lok Sabha poll, draws to a close, the lustre of the UPA’s election victory is already fading. The unbelievable India-Pakistan joint statement that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inked in Egypt last month is only one of the several areas in which the Government has goofed up.
Mr Singh invoked the legacy of his predecessor, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to justify the Sharm el-Sheikh disaster. However, Mr Vajpayee’s strategy vis-à-vis Pakistan was vastly different. Within days of the NDA Government coming to power in 1998, Mr Vajpayee demonstrated great political acumen. By carrying out the nuclear tests in Pokhran, he announced to the world that India had graduated from being a first generation to a second generation nuclear power.
It was only after demonstrating India’s nuclear capability that Mr Vajpayee initiated his ‘bus diplomacy’ with Pakistan. Later, it was only after completely routing the Pakistani forces in Kargil sector that he invited Gen Pervez Musharraf for the Agra summit. Here too Mr Vajpayee did not yield an inch, which disappointed Gen Musharraf as his book In the Line of Fire very clearly mentions.
Similarly, after the ISI-sponsored attack on our Parliament House complex, for almost two years Mr Vajpayee refused to shake hands with the Pakistani President, so much so that Gen Musharraf was forced to offer a handshake at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu. Also, for two years the NDA Government kept the Pakistani Army on the edge by launching Operation Parakram. Finally, Mr Vajpayee eased the pressure on Pakistan but only after the latter’s national security chief agreed to relent on the terrorism issue.
Therefore, simply invoking Mr Vajpayee’s legacy of statesmanship will not help the UPA Government undo the damage it has already done in Sharm el-Sheikh. Soon after the joint statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani milked the Balochistan issue that India had conceded, and told the Pakistani media that he had made New Delhi agree to delink the dialogue process from action on terrorism.
The fundamental position of Pakistan has not changed despite the cosmetic measures that Islamabad has of late undertaken to please its American bosses. There is no denying that terrorism continues to be used as an instrument of state policy by Pakistan vis-à-vis India. Pakistani terrorist organisations keep the entire Indian security establishment engaged at all times. What could be a better proxy for the Pakistani Army?
Therefore, Islamabad will never dismantle the terrorist camps operating from its soil. The on-going Pakistani Army operation against the Taliban is different because these jihadis are a threat to Pakistan itself. Rest assured, terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba will remain insulated from any such crackdown.
Back home the Government is facing flak on various domestic issues. Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is already backpedalling on his proposal to have a single secondary school board for all States. Further, the dispute over natural gas pricing has invited the criticism that the Government is being partisan in its handling of this important issue. This criticism has been so effective that the Government has had to amend its stand on the matter in the Supreme Court.
The Government has also had to backtrack on several other issues. For instance, after welcoming the Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexuality, it now says that it wants to reconsider its stand. Its ally, the Trinamool Congress, has also forced it to rethink the land acquisition Bill, while the DMK is refusing to go along with the Government on divestment, at least as far as PSUs in Tamil Nadu are concerned. Union Telecom Minister A Raja hasn’t helped the Government’s image either. He continues to embarrass the Government with his shenanigans.
The severity of the power crisis nationwide, the shadow of drought looming large over many parts of the country, and the spurt in food grain, pulse and vegetable prices even though inflation is in negative, do not provide a rosy picture of the Government in charge. Even before recovery from the economic downturn has firmed up, there is talk of inflation raising its ugly head again.
The Government’s chicanery on the issue of declaration of assets by our judges has been well and truly exposed. After introducing the relevant Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Government quietly withdrew it when the Opposition saw through its gameplan to shield the judges.
And finally, to cap it all, the Maoist menace plaguing many States of the country flies in the face of all the brave talk by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Two months in office may be too short a time to judge a Government. But the omens are worrying. This Government is virtually no different from the previous regime which was in power from 2004 to May 2009. That is a lot of time to show results, or obfuscate issues.
-- punjbk@gmail.com
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