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| One yardstick for Modi, another for Omar | | Sir Creek: Congress' Double-Standards | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 14: Foreign Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who during the 2012 Assembly elections in UP communalized the electoral scene to woo Muslim voters and repeatedly challenged the authority of the Election Commission of India, on Thursday last questioned the timing of Narendra Modi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sir Creek issue saying the Chief Minister of Gujarat raised the matter at the time of elections and indicated that the Central Government could take it up with the Election Commission. Sir Creek, a strip of water-body, is located in Gujarat and it is an issue of conflict between India and Pakistan.
In his letter, Modi had alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to handover Sir Creek to Pakistan. He had said Sir Creek issue should "not be handed over to Pakistan" and talks on this issue with Pakistan should be stopped. He also raised the issue in an election rally and accused the Prime Minister of bartering national interests to please Pakistan. Even today, Modi raked up this issue and asserted that the Prime Minister had discussed the issue of Sir Creek with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at his official residence in September this year. Not only this, he also claimed that both Prime Minister Monmohan Singh and Zardari had discussed the issue at Tehran (Iran) and that the Prime Minister adopted a soft approach towards the Pakistani claim on the strategic Sir Creek.
The Prime Minister's Office on the same day rubbished the claim of Modi that Sir Creek is being "handed over" to Pakistan and said the baseless charges were "mischievous" and "motives questionable as these came on the eve of Gujarat polls". As for External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, he said: "When we take some good decisions (increasing cap on LPG cylinder from six to nine) we are told you can't take these decisions. But someone writes a letter that is related to international relations during the elections, it's really for us to consider through appropriate organization, including Election Commission, as to what are the permissible limit of the issue that can be raised". He made comments while talking to reporters on the sidelines of CII-MEA energy seminar here in New Delhi.
If one goes by what Khurshid said, one can conclude without any hesitation that his basic grouse was that Modi raised in his letter to the Prime Minister an issue which was not local but an issue relating to "international relations". In other words, he suggested that Modi should not have raised the issue of Sir Creek as it was an issue of international import. Fair enough. But the question is: Was Modi the first Chief Minister who talked about relations which Khurshid considers as international relations? Certainly not. NC working president and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been consistently saying that Jammu and Kashmir is a political problem that needs political solution and that Pakistan must be brought on board in order to resolve the so-called Kashmir issue. Omar Abdullah, who is Constitutionally bound to defend the territorial integrity of India, has been, on the contrary, suggesting that Pakistan is a factor in the political situation in this part of the State and that if peace is to restored in the Kashmir valley on a permanent basis, then New Delhi has to talk to Islamabad and accommodate its viewpoint on the State.
Indeed, the Congress and the UPA Government have two yardsticks. One for the likes of Modi who urge New Delhi not to compromise the Indian stand on Sir Creek, want it to stop discussions with Islamabad on this issue and defend to the hilt the territorial integrity of India. And another for the likes of Omar who want New Delhi to compromise the Indian stand on Jammu and Kashmir in the name of peace and friendship. There is no doubt that the nation has appreciated Modi for his intervention. For, his fear doesn't appear to be misplaced considering the fact that the Indian Prime Minister has on a number of occasions suggested non-territorial solution as far as the Kashmir issue is concerned. |
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