Congress has no moral authority to question Modi on Pakistan crisis

The terrorist attack in Uri has understandably outraged the entire nation. Public mood has put a lot of pressure on Modi government to take a range of tough measures against Pakistan, including waging a full-fledged war.

Sensing popular mood, political parties are also echoing similar sentiments. On the other hand, even as the Modi government acknowledges the will of the people, it is not taking any hasty steps.

Instead, it has adopted a nuanced and measured approach by putting strong diplomatic pressure on Pakistan in all possible forums. A counter strike could well escalate into a full-scale war. Hence, it is better that our forces are fully prepared for the long haul and avoid any knee-jerk reaction.

Considering BJP’s commitment for a "strong and safe India", we can expect Modi government to take the best possible steps to respond to Pakistan’s terror strike that took away precious lives of our soldiers.

While evaluating the government’s response, one has to keep in mind that going into war should not be the first option because the country’s economic growth has just started coming back on track after ten years of complete derailment under the UPA government.

Besides human casualities, any form of war will create uncertainty and economic slowdown and that is something we cannot afford at this juncture. Those advocating war should not forget that the nuclear bomb-armed rogue nation of Pakistan is also capable of inflicting serious damage on us.

Emotional reaction of every single Indian wanting to avenge the death of our soldiers is a testimony that we are a nation of patriotic citizens. In the past, whenever our country went to war, we all overcame our internal differences and stood as one with our forces.

Incidentally, during all previous wars - with the exception of 1999 Kargil aggression - Congress was at the helm of affairs. Every single time, Congress got all unconditional support from the Opposition, though some Left parties preferred their ideological boss China over India during the 1964 India-China war.

However, today, when Congress is in Opposition, it is indulging in petty politics instead of extending wholehearted support to the Modi government. While making fun of Prime Minister Modi for his 56-inch chest anecdote, some Congress leaders conveniently forget how the entire political class rallied behind their governments in event of such grave external threats.

In the past, the Congress messed up on the Kashmir issue on several occasions and failed to capitalise on opportunities to corner Pakistan.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had even issued a joint statement with Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of NAM summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009, where Pakistan made India acknowledge its involvement, overt or covert, in Balochistan.

Recently, when slogans like "Kashmir ki azadi tak jung rahegi" were shouted in JNU, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stood in the support of such anti-national elements. The Congress also forgets that its CM in Maharashtra, Vilarao Deshmukh, was indulging in terror tourism at the Taj Mahal Hotel when Mumbai was attacked in 2008. The central government of the day could do nothing beyond sending a dossier and exchanging pleasantries with the Pakistani leadership.

How can we expect the present Congress leadership to come clean on Kashmir when it was none other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself who significantly weakened India’s position on Kashmir in his desperation to earn the tag of an international statesman?

Former external affairs minister Natwar Singh writes about Nehru’s blunder in his book One Life is Not Enough:

Taking the Kashmir issue to the security council of United Nations was a monumental mistake. By doing so, he converted a domestic matter into an international one. Not only this, Pandit Nehru agreed to a plebiscite in Kashmir for ascertaining the views of the people. He also agreed to a representative of the UN Secretary General to conduct these elections. Furthermore, he mentioned that he had no objections taking the Kashmir issue to the international court of justice at The Hague.

Further, Nehru’s myopic and rudderless China policy shows how personal whims and fancies can cost a nation so dearly. Nehru visited China in October 1954 and received a grand welcome.

Natwar Singh writes:

The first letter he wrote on his China experience was to Edwina Mountbatten and shared details of his confidential discussion with Chinese leaders, which was against the oath of secrecy taken by him as India’s PM. As Chinese military activity on the border increased with disquieting speed, Pt Nehru’s response didn’t satisfy Parliament. He confessed in the Rajya Sabha that he had foolishly not kept Parliament informed of the developments and made an irresponsible statement that not a blade of grass grew in Aksai Chin.

Though loss in 1964 war against China was imminent due to our military’s lack of preparedness, the scale of defeat and loss of human lives could have been much less had Nehru entrusted the command of the war to someone other than defence minister Krishna Menon’s favourite General BK Kaul.

Ramchandra Guha mentions in his book India After Gandhi that Kaul’s proximity to Menon had come in public glare when celebrated Army chief KS Thimayya resigned as a mark of protest after Kaul was elevated as Lieutenant General, surpassing 12 senior officers.

Recently, Congress, along with other opposition parties, made a mockery of Indian government when its bid for inclusion in UN Security Council failed. While doing so, Congress once again forgot that India had lost an opportunity to become member of the coveted council way back in 1955 due to Nehru's wrong priorities.

During Nehru's 1955 USSR trip, Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin had proposed India’s inclusion as sixth member of UN Security Council. To utter shock and disbelief, Nehru refused this proposal and said, "We feel that this should not be done till the question of China’s admission and possibly of others is first solved. I feel that we should first concentrate on getting China admitted."

Thankfully, India is finally out of the grip of Nehru syndrome that considerably weakened the nation over the past decades. Today, Narendra Modi is in full command and he does not need to push India into war to politically exploit public sentiment. Congress leaders in the past, on the other hand, have thrived on the uncertainties that accompany a war or war-like situation.

For example, it is true that triumph over Pakistan in the 1971 War revived depleted nationalistic sentiment and patriotic zeal due to the 1964 defeat at the hands of China. Indira Gandhi emerged as the Iron Lady and her stature grew so much that even Jan Sangh leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee compared her with Goddess Durga.

However, many Indira critics wrote that war with Pakistan was needed more by Indira than India because the 1969 Congress split had dented her image and she had lost control over the party. Moreover, it was an attempt to divert the nation’s attention from other pressing issues on which she had failed to deliver.

How can we also forget Rajeev Gandhi’s foolhardy adventurism in Sri Lanka when Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was sent without understanding the ground realities and its implications? Thousands of Indian soldiers were killed, millions of rupees were lost, sentiments of Indian Tamils were hurt and India had to face international embarrassment.

Many critics have written that Rajiv Gandhi’s Sri Lankan escapade was again aimed at boosting his depleting political capital because Congress had lost several elections to regional parties after its resounding victory in 1984, BJP’s Ram Mandir campaign was resonating among voters and Congressmen like VP Singh were upping the ante.

While opposition parties have the right to dissent and criticise the ruling party in a democracy, there are certain issues where the parties must bury the hatchet and must be seen as one by the enemy.

The current turmoil vis-à-vis Pakistan that could blow into an armed conflict is one such issue. Unfortunately, the Opposition, especially the Congress, is again only focused on political gains and is discrediting itself in the process.

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