The country’s internal and external security scenario is under severe threat. The rising incidence of Maoist violence, terrorism and incidents of incursions and intrusions along the international borders with China and Pakistan are pointers to a greater concern. The internal security situation had never been so grave and it has got further compounded by a new low in our relations with neighbouring countries.
The Congress led UPA II is completing its tenure placing at high risks our internal and external security. Our national stature and prestige is badly eroded. Our fishermen are being captured and killed in southern seas, our soldiers are beheaded and mutilated on our Northern borders, our boundaries are violated at will umpteen times on Indo-China borders. The latest being, the incursion by Chinese troops almost 19 kms inside Indian Territory and holding its position for nearly a month. India is being dishonoured, trivialised and its legitimate authority questioned. Our government at the centre, at best is only offering platitudes to its citizens.
Threat to Internal Security
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemns the barbaric attack carried out by naxals on the convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh on May 25, 2013 about a couple of years after the brutal killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. With this recent attack, the Maoists have declared war against the Nation. This is a direct assault on democracy. Maoists believe in bullet and not ballot, and want to throw out democratic government through barrel of gun. Let us be clear that the fight of the Maoists is not actually about development or rights of the tribals, it is merely sheaths that cloak their real and unequivocal agenda, capturing power through violence and not democratic participation and means.
The latest attack also exposes the new aggressive strategy of Maoist, which is ambushing the security forces, targeting the political leadership, carrying out abductions of government officials, threatening local elected representatives and extorting the public. Their brutality was on display when they put placard around the neck of the abducted officer stating that he was a "prisoner of war".
The nation is facing the biggest challenge to its internal security from the Maoists. The Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh, at an earlier occasion, described Left wing extremism as “the biggest threat to India”. But, there is not matching action from the government.
The incongruity in the Congress’ policy of dealing with naxalism on the one hand whilst on the other, particularly during elections, doing deals with them, comes to the surface periodically. Such reports have emerged from Andhra Pradesh and from Chhattisgarh.
Post the Bastar attack on May 25, 2013, the Congress indulged in blame game by targeting the State Government. However, the preliminary reports emanating from the National Investigative Agency (NIA) have pointed finger of suspicion on a few congressmen as having maintained links with the Maoists even as being a part of the targeted convoy. The Congress owes an explanation on this.
Since coming to power at the Centre in 2004 and prior to the Dantewada massacre, the Congress party and the central government, have been lecturing to the states about dealing with the Naxals/Maoists. In 2005, the Prime Minister Shri Mamohan Singh while expressing his concern over the spread of the Left wing extremism referred to the “virtual collapse” of law and order in some parts of the country.
In 2005, there were 156 districts in 13 states affected in varying degree. Media reports say the Maoists have spread to 182 districts in 15 states. The Planning Commission of India has gone further and claimed that left wing extremism prevails in 233 districts in 20 states.
There are also disturbing reports about arms and ammunitions of Pakistani and Chinese marking reaching the hands of naxals and growing Maoists links with LTTE and NE insurgent groups. Any links, however tenuous, between the Maoists and the terrorists can pose a serious threat to India.
The Maoists expressing support to the separatists of Jammu and Kashmir, their alleged links with the insurgents of north east are now forming a cleft stretching north from Andhra-Karnataka border. One arm extends through the well-recognised red corridor via Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa to the North-East. The other arm with suspected links with sleeper cells in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand reach up to Jammu and Kashmir.
The nation’s resolve to fight Maoists is being compromised by the Congress at the altar of short term political considerations.
After the Dantewada incident in which 78 security personnel were massacred by the Maoists, the then Home Minister declared the policy of “Clear, Hold and Develop” the naxal affected areas. Soon Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi and her senior party functionaries including a General Secretary wrote articles essentially sympathising with the naxal cause in various publications. It resulted in stalling the proposal and demoralising the security forces. After sometime the same Home Minister started giving excuse that he has a “limited mandate”.
The Congress’ hypocrisy and double-speak in this matter was further exposed when the NAC hand-picked several over ground supporters of the underground Maoists as its members. In the name of Human Rights activism, they were engaged in policy making for the government and some even were made advisors to the Planning Commission.
Till date, post May 2013, not a word has been heard from these activists. Oblivious of all this, visiting Raipur after the dreadful attack, the Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi, making a spectacle of her uncontrolled anger asked for responsibility to be fixed!
The BJP has consistently taken a nationalist stand blending the aspirations of the people of the affected areas, particularly of the tribals. It was the BJP, during the NDA rule under the leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, formed a separate ministry of Tribal Affairs with a mandate to work for a holistic development of the tribal areas and its people. In the past nine years under Dr Raman Singh, the BJP led government in Chhattisgarh has undertaken various developmental projects and enacted the comprehensive Food Security Act, which is being implemented through an efficiently run PDS.
Maoism is not a one-State issue. It is a national issue and must be dealt with a multi-pronged approach where safety and development should go hand in hand.
The BJP believes that Maoist have thrown a challenge to the idea of India and must be dealt with by united efforts of all concerned.
BJP demands that there has to be a unified strategy to deal with the naxal menace with constant consultation and cooperation of the Centre with the naxal affected states. There has to be appropriate strengthening of security apparatus, creation of Special Forces like ‘Grey Hound’ and a concerted and time bound action plan in place. The intelligence apparatus and acquiring sophisticated equipments. BJP underlines the importance of constant monitoring of all these steps. BJP will support such a comprehensive plane to combat Maoist menace. The BJP demands that the Centre government should take immediate step to stop the flow of fund to the Naxals.
Invoking Secularism to communalise discourse on Terror
Home Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde has sought information about how many Muslims are languishing in jails on terror charges. The Assembly in Kerala unanimously has resolved in favour of the Coimbatore bomb blast accused Abdul Nasser Madani. The blast killed 60 people while it targeted Shri L K Advani.
The people of India have not forgotten Shri Salman Khurshid’s electoral gimmick when he claimed that Smt Sonia Gandhi wept on hearing the death of terrorists in Batla House encounter. Similarly, Shri Digvijay Singh’s visit to the homes of the terror suspects in Azamgarh and questioning the sacrifice of martyr Police Inspector Late Mohan Chand Sharma were desperate attempts to communalise the entire narrative on terrorism.
This agenda is in the name of secularism. While for some perpetrating terror may be driven by religious fervour, our fight against terrorism is not a fight against any religion. The former home minister Shri Chidambaram and the present home minister Shri Shinde might try to communalise terrorism by cooking up terms such as “Hindu terror” and ‘saffron terror’. These are a part of the Congress’ vote bank and appeasement policy.
The BJP condemns these attempts to communalise terrorism. It is in the national interest to treat terror as terror and must be dealt with full resolve.
Barbarism perpetrated by Pakistan
The treatment offered to Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national in the Pakistani prison stood in sharp contrast to the way in which an elderly Pakistani prisoner Dr Chisthi was released from an Indian gaol. Even if quid pro quo is too much to expect, a fair treatment of captured soldiers is expected under the Geneva Convention. Sarabjit Singh is not a first case. Earlier Chamail Singh was also killed brutally in Kot Lakhpat jail in Pakistan.
Dismembered bodies of captured Indian soldiers being returned to their families was adding insult to injury. India remains with a sense of outrage that Pakistan lives in complete denial about these facts even today. The Indian government has remained inactive largely throughout these crises and spoke only at times. When it did speak, it spoke as though it was completely helpless. This has made the people angry with frustration.
Pakistan may have lost the list of the 1971 PoWs still languishing in Pakistani jails, may allow Hafeez Sayeed and the Indian fugitive Dawood Ibrahim all comfort and freedom, but does not want that India should demand its legitimate rights.
Repeated violations of cease-fire continue at the border. Fidayeen attacks in Jammu and Kashmir are increasing by the day. The twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad in February followed by an attack on the CRPF camp in Bemina area of Srinagar in March this year clearly show government’s claim of a returning normalcy as hollow. There are new revelations in the courts in Pakistan about the existence of huge quantum of secret funds ready to be spent for pursuing the ‘unfinished agenda’ in Kashmir.
The government’s approach has been completely laid back. In fact, even as the irony of barbarism in 21st century could not settle down, our external affairs minister was hosting his Pakistani counterpart who was on a private visit to India to a lavish dinner. In 2009, the uncalled for statement issued at Sharm-el-Sheikh, has in one stroke mitigated the good work done by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During the NDA, in January 2004, Shri Vajpayee had ensured a written commitment from Islamabad that no Pakistani territory will be allowed to be used for terrorism against India.
Congress-led UPA Government has failed to get justice for the Mumbai attack. The handlers are scot free in Pakistan. Headley is not questioned in India by our investigators. Yet this government is ever ready for composite dialogue with Pakistan.
With a newly elected government in Pakistan there is reason for cautious optimism for bettering ties, without losing our national self-respect.
Italian Marines Mock our Justice System
Two poor Indian fishermen while fishing were killed by Italian naval marines. When caught and made to face trial in our courts, they went home to celebrate Christmas and then to participate in the elections. They tried to negotiate to stay back by-passing a trial by an Indian court. The Indian government has not explained if they have agreed to any pre-set terms for their return to face the trial. While the permission to go home was given by the court, questions are raised as to how the Indian government could have an understanding, if any, with the accused.
Indian Foreign Policy on a Drift
Due to a lack of political direction, the Indian foreign policy is on a drift. It is unable to effectively meet the challenges faced by the country. The relations with the SAARC countries had never been as low as it is now. The goodwill that we had in Maldives is all but lost. Nepal may have not drafted a Constitution yet for itself, but it seems to want nothing from India. Sri Lanka has not fulfilled its promise of devolution of power as yet.
There were more than 400 incursions by China into our territory. The recent incursion in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector in Ladakh was brazen. Dams on the Brahmaputra, building roads and communication towers in areas in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), extraordinary claims in South China Sea affecting Indian commercial operations in Vietnam are but a few threats from China not adequately addressed by our External Affairs Ministry.
This government has also failed miserably in enhancing India's maritime and energy security. The importance of securing the Indian Ocean Region so that it becomes part of our Region of Influence needs to be urgently recognised. The BJP is committed to developing deeper relations with countries in the IOR so that growing Chinese influence can be countered. We are determined to carry forward Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Look East vision which the UPA has abandoned.
The UPA government has also failed in resolving the issuance of stapled visa to Indian Citizens by the Chinese government and in solving the difficulties face by the people of Arunachal due to the obduracy of the Bejing regime.
The BJP led NDA government was led by the visionary leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We enjoyed the confidence and cordiality of all our neighbours. International relations improved in leaps and bounds. National dignity and sovereignty were held high.
The BJP is committed to preserve this national dignity. The BJP will not permit any compromise of India’s security or strategic interests. If any such situation may arise, it shall act as may be warranted in the national interest.
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