LAC crisis “mismanaged”

Shiban Khaibri  

Daily Excelsior:  1st July, 2020

Efficient leadership entails that one should not conventionally follow where the path may lead , instead one should go where there is no path and leave a trail. On the issue of leadership , it is aptly said that if a leader’s actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and “become more”, one was really a leader. A dormant, quiescent, stagnant, drowsing and inactive leadership where innovation and taking fast and even difficult decisions were totally in utter deficit and even nonexistent could, at least, never sermonise or teach in a training institute the theory part without discussing the critical and sensitive part of practicality . In fact , innovation, transformation , recasting and remodelling were the basis of distinguishing factors between a leader and his or her followers . With that brief prelude , it becomes increasingly important to critically analyse the serious advice given to Shri Modi by former PM Manmohan Singh Ji and the charge of Congress President Sonia Gandhi that Modi government had “mismanaged” the crisis along the LAC. Since Congress Party, with such utterances especially in the backdrop of the omissions and commissions of UPA 1&2 and unfounded, baseless and unwarranted criticism of Prime Minister Modi and allegations and charges levelled against the NDA government, is providing sufficient scope to analysts to open the Pandora’s box . But whose Pandora’s Box is a matter of no guess.

Dr. Manmohan Singh , only a few days back in context with the LAC standoff, cautioned the Prime Minister to be “mindful of the implications of his words as China could use them as a “vindication of its position”. Former Prime Minister all through his ten years tenure was never ever seen coming up with a statement which not only befitted the given situation but could prove the same coming from an assertive leader of a strong country of 125 crores. Even not when Pakistani Qasab and his associates travelled all the way from Karachi to Mumbai and held the financial capital of India and its citizens to ransom for four days massacring 166 innocents and wounding 300. UPA government was all busy at that time in ensuring that Congress government of Shiela Dixit was returned to power in Delhi Assembly elections. We know much about all those years, the UPA was in power . In fact , we cannot deny the academic scholarship, personal integrity and gentlemanliness of Mamnohan Singh but have many questions about the dexterity of his leadership as all powerful position of Indian Prime Minister should exhibit . Since that has tremendous impact on every aspect of running a country like Bharat with multifarious problems and intricate issues emanating from within and from outside the borders, a word or two must be said.

If the core and most important ten years of UPA government could have performed on expected lines with the Prime Minister leading the nation like an uncompromising strong leader delivering personally , and monitoring performance of his cabinet team , much of what was left in a mess and in rut could have been avoided. If we take any area – fuel, unemployment, internal security , growth, exports, prices and inflation, agriculture and industries, corruption and scams , international relations and diplomacy , we find only things having gone astray and beyond expectations. Was it scripted that not the PM in real sense or at least wholly, but some extra arrangement outside the purview of the constitutional authority , decisions and governance without owning any responsibility or being accountable to Parliament or to the public , would be arranged and made functional . In other words, can we ask about the rationale and the efficacy of there being over and above the government, something like National Advisory Council (NAC) for dishing out advices and suggestions to the Prime Minister. There are several questions about the NAC as despite it being virtually unconstitutional , what had it “to advise” the Prime Minister of India who can ask for and solicit any information from any corner concerning any issue of the country. It was charged of overriding and modifying cabinet decisions. The present dispensation is working without any such extra constitutional arrangement.

We have seen how the dignity of the all powerful Prime Minister was lowered and ridiculed by Rahul Gandhi by openly tearing into pieces an ordinance at a largely attended press conference which was decided and passed by the Union Cabinet in 2013. The Prime Minister should either have asked for the ouster of Rahul Gandhi from the party or should have resigned in protest. That, neither was done demeaned and lowered the office of the Prime Minister . Should the present incumbent give any credence to advice rendered by such a former Prime Minister ? It was during the tenure of UPA that “saffron terror” was manufactured and something ruse and ridiculous canard like arms training to such ‘Saffronites’ etc floated. It was during this UPA that the Prime Minister declared minorities (the trusted vote bank) had the first right on India’s resources which means the majority had to rely on the left over and the residue and not groan or grumble . It is even after this country was partitioned on communal lines at the behest of Muslim League and a separate country Pakistan exclusively for Muslims was carved out in 1947 and the left out part was again made a secular country.

Who can forget the drafting of the Communal Violence Bill of 2011 by this NAC instead of by the Law Ministry which in fact had the potential to exacerbate communalism and create chaos everywhere in addition to pose threat to federal structure of India. Agreed that the notorious draft bill was opposed tooth and nail but how come the NAC which had Smt. Sonia Gandhi supporters and loyalists could afford to prepare and shape this bill is quite baffling but is reminiscent of an extra power structure delivering goods instead of the constitutional one. Should the very Prime Minister working under those constraints caution the present Indian leader? Since Manmohan Singh Ji was bound to act upon the ”advice” tendered by the extra constitutional authority , he did not or purportedly was not allowed to object to this bill. That, it was aimed at projecting the majority community as the belligerent group targeting the religious minorities who should get all immunity and protection while the onus of proving having not targeted the minority groups lay on the majority community even if being victims and that the premise was that never ever, could any type of minority target the majority one.

More skeletons are bound to tumble out of the cupboard when it comes to what behoves the Prime Minister even after demitting office. Meeting Foreign Minister of Pakistan and its High Commissioner at the residence of a sworn loyalist Congress leader and Pakistan lover gave room for too many speculations . He is the one who in Pakistan had sought their help in “In ko nikalo aur hamko lao” or oust the elected government headed by Modi and replace it with “ours” as if Pakistan was a super Election Commission wielding authority to oust and install governments. Manmohan Singh Ji on record has never ever criticised this Congress leader for his extra love for Pakistan, instead directly endorsed his stand by joining the meeting .

The former PM also claimed that China had been committing incursions “since April 2020”. Did China do it all for the first time and never before, at least during the premiership of Dr. Singh , he did not touch that as the aim would have got out of focus and the bitter criticism of Modi Ji weakened in its intensity . In fact, the former PM presided over as many as 600 incursions made by China between 2010-13 against India. Not to speak of resisting them forcefully , he even did not come up with any statement . AK Antony , three time CM of Kerala and Defence Minister of India, made it clear in the Parliament that “we had erected no infrastructure along LAC with China while China had been doing that on regular basis and that we stood nowhere in that aspect before China.” Why , what was done in respect of that during 10 years ?

Now, how could Smt. Sonia Gandhi not play the “role of opposition” by saying that the current crisis on the border with China was attributable to the mismanagement of the government and wrong policies pursued by it . To that Sharad Pawar has given a befitting response by asking how China usurped 45000 Sq. Kms of our territory . In 1963 itself, Pakistan ceded 5180 kms of Indian territory in PoK to China and what did the Congress governments at the centre do. 2008 pact of Congress with Chinese Communist Party signed by Rahul Gandhi was in which context , has not been made known . Agreements and pacts are between two sovereign nations and not between two political parties of two countries with heterogeneous political faiths. In this connection, there are numerous issues to be discussed threadbare and beans spilled .

However, details about Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Chinese donation connection and even from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and numerous donors , PSUs, entities and even an attempted donation of Rs.100 crore from the country’s budget in 1991 have opened new hitherto unexplored chapters of how politics , administration and a family sponsored (or best a Party sponsored) Trust were synonyms. More of it next but the fact is, those living in glass houses should never throw stones, without any basis, on others living in concrete houses.

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Courtesy: Shiban Khaibri  and Daily Excelsior:  1st July, 2020