DOST KHAN
JAMMU: Grabbing power appears to be end-mission of unscrupulous Indian politicians even if it entails eulogizing Yasin Batkal, Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani or galvanizing support for Pak apologists like Kanhaya Kumar and making beeline at the residence of Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Indian politicians have all the time to defend LeT operative Ishrat Jehan, question seizure of Pak terror boat near Gujarat coast and doubt Army’s surgical strike in Pakistan occupied Kashmir but no priority to unite and chalk out a strategy to take on rogue neighbour for repeatedly mutilating bodies of Indian soldiers.
Lance Naik Hem Raj was beheaded on 8th January 2013 along LoC with Pakistan soldiers taking his head as a souvenir; Sepoy Manjeet Singh of the 17th Sikh Regiment on 28th October 2016 and a young brave heart fell victim to Paki brutes. These incidents expose the ugly face of Pakistan which shocked the civilized world in 1999 when Captain Saurabh Kalia was brutally tortured and killed in Kargil.
Today’s mutilation of an Indian soldier is a deep bruise to the psyche of entire nation. But why didn’t Indian political class show any sign of grief and instead remained entangled in pinning down Prime Minister Narendra Modi for effecting demonetisation.
Whenever questions are raised against terror brutality or Pakistan’s overt and covert support to fuelling terrorism across India, Congress-once premier political party of the country- is seen at the forefront. The Congress and the so-called pseudo secularists are not defending a particular thought just to bring down Modi but also to supplement their vote bank, which is why no voice was raised today over yet another mutilation of a brave soldier.
In recent past, the Congress had asked the NDA government to come clean on ‘terror boat’ explosion off the Gujarat coast, which had sent a wrong message across the world. A Congress spokesman had gone to the extent of asking the government to explain which terrorist organization owned the suspicious boat. Similarly, Sanjay Nirupam had almost described the 29th September 2016 surgical strike in PoK as fake. In a way, in both the cases, the Congress and other likeminded Opposition had actually suspected the country’s security grid engaged in war against terrorism. Even if the government had erred in its judgment, the Congress should have sorted it out at different levels, instead of going public.
Such an embarrassment for the nation, especially at a time when all efforts are being made to galvanise the world against terror monster and its mentor Pakistan, speak of the desperation in Indian political class.
Indian politicians, Congressmen in particular must revert back to glorious traditions set by the nation by rising above politics when it came to national security.
The compatriots still recall with pride how BJP stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee had eulogized and hailed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as ‘Durga’ soon after the liberation of Bangladesh by taking nearly a lakh of Pakistani brute soldiers as prisoners of war. The leader of the opposition had gone beyond party politics to galvanise support for the Prime Minister for her courageous act of making the chronic enemy lick dust on its own soil of then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh. This is how nations grow. No country behaves irresponsibly when it comes to national security and fighting terrorism, which is emerging as biggest challenge to the civilized world.
The Congress should also recall how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh found support from unexpected quarters in Parliament when he showed signs of assertion in the wake of beheading of Lance Naik Hem Raj. That was the time when Defence Minister and the External Affairs Minister had created a real mess by holding the brief for Pakistan. They had almost given a clean chit to Pakistan army by holding terrorists responsible for beheading of the brave soldiers.
There are times when the political parties should rise above petty politics and get united to face the challenge posed by enemy, particularly when the enemy is Pakistan, which has made it a national policy to give India thousand cuts. A country which has not remained in peace with itself cannot live in harmony with her neighbours. It is, therefore, time for Pak apologists and vote-bank champions to take some time off from the ‘note-discomfort syndrome’ due to demonetisation and show solidarity with brave soldiers.
