Dost Khan
JAMMU: Controversy over 29 / 9 surgical strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir is refusing to die down; courtesy frustration of Congress and the Communists. Taking off with saluting the Indian Army and the NDA Government, the Congress made several U-turns, obviously out of dejection and tension over Narendra Modi emerging as one of the very few decisive Prime Ministers of India. This led to shameful accusations like the strikes being fake and awkward ownership of three ‘surgical strikes’ during the tenure of UPA, which the army and its former brass including the then Director General Military Operations debunked as just border skirmishes.
That a political party, especially the one which has ruled India for nearly six decades during its seven-decade independence, can stoop so low is beyond anybody’s comprehension. They have virtually demeaned and belittled the valiant armed forces by seeking evidence and proof. Describing the 29/ 9 strikes as ‘Khoon Ki Dalali’, Congress Vice President has exposed himself as an immature person even at the age of 46. Will he be same at 64? The answer seems affirmative, given his whimsical behavior like that of a spoiled brat. The latest comment ‘Khoon Ki Dalali’ is reminiscent of his childish act of tearing off the controversial Ordinance on 27th September 2013 to negate the Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers as ‘complete nonsense’, saying “our government has done wrong.” If he can cause huge embarrassment to his ‘own’ Prime Minister, Narendra Modi should have no grouse.
Unfortunately, because of the Congress, the country has ‘our’ Prime Minister and ‘their’ Prime Minister, not the Prime Minister of India. Had it been so, the nation had a reason to stand behind Modi over his bold decision of allowing surgical strikes in PoK, amid the threat of nuke action, not only by the Pakistan think-tank but its generals and the Defence Minister. The nation’s resolve during crisis was seen in immense measure when Indira Gandhi was hailed by the entire country and even equated with Goddess Durga by none other than BJP’s Atal Behari Vajpayee for her decisive action in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The country (sadly excluding Congressmen) is still remembering the ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kissan’ icon Lal Bahadur Shastri for reinvigorating new vigour in the Chinese defeat-hit nation when he scripted a saga of valour on border and determination across India during 1965 war against Pakistan. Modi has not only been denied this privilege but is being condemned for what New Delhi achieved by showing Islamabad the place it deserved. He called nuke bluff unequivocally.
Are pseudo secularists’ politically so naïve that they could not appreciate the surgical-strikes of the 29/ 9 magnitude to have been taken without a strong political will? They tend to be ignorant on the face of stupendous will shown by Narendra Modi.
After ‘show-evidence drama’, the Congress made a scoop by owning up three ‘surgical operations’ on 1st September 2011, 28th July 2013 and 14th January 2014.Refuting claim of surgical strike in 2013, the former DGMO, from 2012 to 2014, Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, clarified that the surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army on 29th September, post Uri attacks were different from the one Congress claims were conducted. He said the surgical strikes now and operations then “can’t be compared”, adding that earlier strikes were cross- border operations carried out at the local level. Top former army brass refuted the other two strikes also as operations, which are normal on borders.
Assuming that the UPA had actually conducted three surgical operations during its tenure, why didn’t they take the nation into confidence, especially when it was shattered after beheading of Lance Naik Hem Raj on 7th January 2013. The outrage was far intense that the killing of 18 soldiers in Uri on 19th September 2016, as Pakistan troopers had taken head of the martyred soldier as souvenir. The action by Indian Army would have satiated the anger of the nation at that point of time more than now.
Like seeking evidence on 29/9, the Congress had a sinister motivation to conceal the three so-called surgical strikes in the past, as it would have antagonised its vote bank, which was not a factor prior to eighties. The vote bank politics has assumed dangerous dimensions post Janata Party era, after Congress lost its turf in the country’s political landscape. By seeing electoral dividends in each action, the Congress and other pseudo secular parties are making a horrendous mistake of deeming a particular segment of Indian population more close to Pakistan than India because of religious affiliation, even after seven decades of partition. This is a dis-service to that community, which has traditionally been putting its weight behind the Congress, among others. But for the UP elections, the Congress would never have made a claim of three previous surgical strikes, even if these were like the one India carried out last month. This is the Congress style of making the surgical strikes secular.
