The nation today faces crisis on nearly all the fronts. In fact, national interest has come under serious cloud because of the way in which the UPA government is handling the affairs of the country.
Indo-US Nuclear Deal
The entire argument of Dr. Manmohan Singh Government in favour of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal made in the last three years stands completely exposed in the light of the letter sent by the Bush administration to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress about the conditions of the deal. The stand of the BJP that the deal in the present form, seriously compromises India’s strategic sovereignty and the right of nuclear test stands, completely vindicated. In fact, many assurances given by the Prime Minister before the Parliament about the merits of the deal turns out to be patently false and misleading as far as India’s strategic interest is concerned. In fact, as recently as July 2, 2008 the Prime Minister’s office issued a statement that ”the 123 Agreement clearly overrides the Hyde Act and this position would be clear to any one who goes through the provisions.”
On the other hand the Bush administration in its reply to the Congress committee clearly stated that the proposed 123 Agreement is in full conformity with the Hyde Act and in the event India detonated a nuclear explosive device then the USA has the right to cease all nuclear co-operations with India immediately including the supply of fuel as well as to request the return of any items transferred from USA including fresh fuel.
The text of the nuclear agreement and the statements of the Bush administration, establish that the UPA government has perpetrated a mega fraud on both the Parliament and the people of the country. None of the assurances that were given to the Parliament have been kept. All the assurances about "assured fuel supply", transfer of technology, etc. is patently misleading.
The BJP would like to clearly reiterate that any compromise on India’s right to nuclear test is wholly unacceptable. The deal entails heavy costs in the event we go for test and obviously the UPA government has not properly negotiated our strategic interests. The BJP recalls with pride that if India today is recognised as a serious player on the world stage, then the nuclear explosion “Pokharan II” conducted by the government headed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the year 1998 has a significant role to play in it particularly, the responsible and courageous manner in which we withstood economic sanctions imposed by major countries of the world, which were subsequently lifted without India submitting to any discriminatory non-proliferation obligations. This great legacy is now being sought to be compromised.
The waiver granted by the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) only worsens India’s strategic interest. First, the voluntarily moratorium on further test declared by Foreign Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee now becomes a binding obligation under the NSG waiver conditions. Second, India is still treated as a Non-Nuclear Weapon State by the NSG and therefore, will have to live up to all the non-proliferation commitments prescribed for Non-Nuclear Weapon States including testing., and thirdly, under the relevant NSG guidelines any nuclear fuel state before making any transfer to India would have to consider whether, the governmental actions are supportive of nuclear non-proliferation. Therefore, in substance, any future test done in national interest would seriously impact nuclear commerce with any NSG member. This has serious security implications. The country has lost the power to develop credible minimum nuclear deterrence.
As far as the nuclear energy is concerned no one is clear at what cost it is going to come. The governmental projection is 2020-2025 by which time production may come full steam. Obviously, lacs of crores would be spent on installation of reactors and nuclear fuel, and because of the hostile environment in which we live, any future test consistent with our security requirements would lead to immediate stoppage and termination of all arrangements and wastage of money spent. This is an additional area of a very serious concern. The consistent campaign of the Congress Party and the UPA Government that the deal would lead to energy security and availability of power is equally misleading. Energy to be supplied at a very high cost in all likelihood after a gap of 25 years and that too in a very uncertain atmosphere is being projected as a big achievement. This would also go down as a clear cut case of patently false representation. The nation and the people of the country would very soon realise the falsity of this claim. When the power situation in country is grim today the UPA government, instead of taking immediate meaningful measures is declaring, “Wait for 25 years for nuclear power.”
The BJP would like to clarify that our opposition to the deal is fundamentally different from that of the Left Parties. We are for good, friendly relations with the USA including strategic partnership but the way the deal has been negotiated and what the government has accepted sows the seeds of future discord between the the two countries. The BJP is for strategic partnership with the US but for strategic subservience which is what the deal about.
Issue of Jammu & Kashmir
The gross indifference and ineptitude of the UPA government has given a new disturbing rise to separatist politics in Jammu & Kashmir. The famous Amarnath Yatra has been going since time immemorial. As the journey is quite hazardous therefore, based upon an expert committee report the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board was constituted by a law passed by the J & K Vidhan Sabha. Further, in the light of Court orders and due considerations by the Cabinet of the State Government lands were made available to the Shrine Board for convenience of the yatris during the duration of the yatra. This was quite consistent with the political and constitutional consensus in the country that regardless of faith provision of convenience must be made for devotees. Thereafter, the separatist in the valley ably assisted by elements in Pakistan started a motivated campaign about demographic change of the valley because of this decision. The UPA government unfortunately surrendered before the separatists. In fact, the BJP would like to salute the extra-ordinary and massive peoples’ movement lead by Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti which ultimately forced the government to withdraw its order and permit the Shrine Board to make provision for the devotees on the lands made available. It was a conflict between the separatist and the nationalist and it is a matter of assurance that the nationalist forces could force the reversal of the surrender before the separatist.
There are certain larger issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir. The Kashmir valley represents the single largest failure of secularism in India since independence. Today, the entire concept of Kashmiriyat unfortunately, has been overtaken by a theocratic movement in the Kashmir valley with sponsorship from across the border. The nearly entire Hindu population inlcuding Kashmiri Pandits has been pushed out of the valley. Non-Muslims including Sikhs have no place there. Temples have been destroyed and basic facilities sought to be granted to Amarnath Yatra pilgrims were also opposed so brazenly. Even if a fraction of this would have taken place in any part of India, a hue and cry would have been raised by those who preach secularism. The Nehruvian thinking on Kashmir was a monumental blunder. The cost to the country has been enormous both in terms of economic cost and social consequences. Who was correct on Kashmir Jawahar Lal Nehru or, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee – this judgement is now awaited. Now, we see a new disturbing trend. Some secularist writers and thinkers are advocating an ill-conceived notion that we should give up Kashmir. There is a fundamental fallacy in this approach. India would not only have been partitioned but disintegrated had this flawed approach prevailed in 1947. No live nation squanders away its territory. It is an India of 2008 and not of 1947. Nations States are not built up by compounding the mistakes of history. Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and the BJP demands that separatist elements in the valley including their patrons across the borders must be dealt with a very heavy hand. The BJP wants to make a categorical declaration that no part of India shall be allowed to secede.
On SIMI and the fight against terror
The UPA government has repeatedly given signals to terrorists and their patrons both inside the country and across the border that strong action against them is tradable for votes. Thanks to the soft approach of the UPA government, India has emerged as a strong epicentre of terror in the last four years. This soft approach was tragically evident while dealing with the issue relating to the ban on the notorious SIMI. This organisation does not believe in our constitution. An investigation has brought out the real objective of SIMI, which is to establish a Muslim caliphate in total defiance of our ideals of secularism liberalism and democracy. Investigations have repeatedly shown how elaborate plans for mounting terrorists attacks were executed with meticulous planning and use of advanced explosive devices by highly indoctrinated members of this group.
Earlier, in the wake of mounting evidence against SIMI the NDA government headed by Shri A. B. Vajpayee took immediate action and outlawed it in 2001. After the UPA came to the power it not only repealed POTA but allowed the ban on SIMI to lapse on 27-09-2005, in spite of the fact, that it was involved in the failed attack on the Ram temple in Ayodhya and later in Delhi in July and October 2005. The UPA government was forced to re-impose ban in 2006. In spite of the fact that this organisation was involved in the attack at Varanasi Hanuman Mandir and the massive strike at Mumbai sub-urban trains on 11/07/2006 causing nearly 200 deaths and again at Malegaon in which 37 persons were killed, a non-serious Home Ministry failed to produce proper evidence before the Unlawful Activities Prevention Tribunal which quashed the ban. It is indeed reprehensible that many senior Ministers of the UPA government have openly supported SIMI and shamelessly described it as a “social organisation”, in spite of its cruel record of terror. It is most distressing that leaders of Congress and like-minded Parties went to the extent of visiting a village in Azamgarh to express sympathy and solidarity for a perpetrator of the Ahmedabad explosions who had been arrested from that village. It was a very pitiable site to witness the government of India belatedly telling the Supreme Court that SIMI is the source of major terror attacks in the country (numbering more than 100) and yet senior ministers of the same government showering open praise on this terrorist body; and a helpless Prime Minister could even utter a word to contain them. It is also reprehensible that a senior minister of the UPA government has openly demanded conferment of Indian citizenship on Bangladeshi infiltrators, contemptuously disregarding the Supreme Court’s strong denunciation of such infiltration as a form of external aggression against the nation.
The BJP complements the Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka governments for the speed with which their Police have been able to identify and apprehend the key conspirators and executors of the terror attacks in their States which again reinforces the terrorist design of SIMI. In fact with these arrests conspiracy and planning of many other terrorist attacks in different parts of the country is also likely to be solved. It is indeed unfortunate that while there is a stringent law against organised crime in Congress ruled State in Maharashtra the Central government has declined to give Presidential sanction to similar laws for Gujarat, M.P. and Rajasthan, in spite of the fact that a valid legislature of a State has pass such a law eminently needed in the fight against terror. By this the Congress Party has subordinated the fight against terror to vote bank politics.
Is it a surprise then that Afzal Guru continues to live happily because a wavering UPA government is too petrified to execute the death sentence awarded to him by the Supreme Court. The weak knee-ed UPA regime has failed miserably to control the inlfux of Pakistan trained militants into Kashmir, ISI backed HUJI operatives from Bangladesh and Maoist guerrillas from Nepal. Faced with the arc of terrorism, that encompasses Islamic jehadis, secessionists of many hues and ultra left desperadoes, the UPA government has abandoned the people of India to their fate instead of effectively combating the challenge.
The BJP demands that the government must properly pursue before the Court the issue of ban against SIMI by placing all the facts relating to its subversive activity and take all other steps so that it is implemented with total resolve and determination. The government must issue a white paper on jehadi terrorism which must include a thorough report on the activities of SIMI and related terrorist groups such as HUJI, Lashkar e Taiyyaba, Jaish e Mohammed, Al Umma as well as other ISI sponsored outfits like ULFA and armed insurgent groups in the north east. The BJP further demands strong measures to choke the channels of terrorist funding and weapons, destroy training camps of terrorists in different parts of the country, take strong action against over-ground supporters and front organisations of terrorist bodies and lastly, effectively manage the borders to control infiltration. There is need for inter-state coordination on a war footing to combat this menace. The BJP further demands that strong diplomatic pressure be brought over Pakistan in a very stern manner that any overt or covert support to terror outfits in India shall not be tolerated. Tough action is also needed against infiltration from Bangladesh.
The politics of induced conversion is increasingly becoming a threat to national security. As seen in Kandhamal and adjoining districts of Orissa following the heinous murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, organizations indulging into forced and induced conversions are now trying to incite communal disturbances by wrongly projecting the incidents as Hindu-Christian clashes. Now even innocent children in the most formative periods of the lives, are being forcibly dragged into this controversy by closure of schools in the different parts of the country.
Procuring majority through corrupt means
After the Left parties withdrew support the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh was required to prove its majority. However, it is matter of shame that all political and Parliamentary propriety was violated with impunity and patently dubious corrupt and questionable methods were adopted by the UPA and some of their new found allies to secure a majority. The nation witnessed one of the saddest spectacles in the history of our Parliamentary democracy where brazen attempts were made to purchase Members of Parliament compelling them to support the UPA government. It is a matter of assurance that some MPs bravely decided to become whistle blowers and exposed this corrupt misdeed of some well known supporters of the UPA government. Now a Parliamentary committee is examining one of the worst case of political corruption in India and we all hope that the guilty would be punished. The sad part of all this is that the political integrity of the Prime Minister has come under serious cloud. It is indeed saddening to note that the entire ruling establishment of the UPA was involved in this stinking scandal. Historians would recall this as the worst scandals of independent India.
A suffering and insecure India is the legacy of UPA government
It is self evident that because of its rank mismanagement of India’s economy the common man has become the worst sufferer under the UPA regime. India is experiencing the highest inflation of the last 16 years. Double digit inflation has a close linkage with Dr. Manmohan Singh whether he was the Finance Minister earlier in the nineties or, as the Prime Minister for the last nearly four and half years. The common man has been deceived and the continuously rising prices, has made his very existence miserable. The present government does not even has the will any more to control prices, leave aside having a proper plan of action. Unabashed vote bank politics has only emboldened the terrorist and their patrons to make the life of average Indian increasingly insecure. This only is the legacy of the UPA – a suffering and insecure India.
The BJP appeals to all Indians that the time has come to get the country free form the curse of the misrule of the UPA government and ensure the return of the NDA government under the able leadership of Shri Lal Krishna Advani.
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