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| India-Pakistan relations: Rahul, Khurshid on same page | | Undermining martyrdom of Hem, Sudhakar | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 20: Rahul Gandhi, who last evening was appointed vice-president of the Congress party with much fanfare, for the first time expressed his views on the kind of foreign policy India should devise and practice. In fact, he virtually contradicted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who four days ago under pressure from the outraged nation told Pakistan that there could not be a business as usual with it and that Islamabad must punish those res-ponsible for the January 8 brutal and inhuman killing of Lance Naik Hem Raj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh in the Mendhar sector and said that foreign policy decisions could not be guided by emotions.
Speaking in the sub-group on "India and the World" at the party's Chintan Baithak (Jaipur), Rahul Gandhi reportedly said: "We should take tough steps but not be emotional in our response" overlooking the view of the "majority of participants" in the meeting, who reportedly sought "strict action against Pakistan". Rahul Gandhi undoubtedly undermined the supreme sacrifices of martyred Hem Raj and Sudhakar Singh by saying what he said, thus indicating that he shared the views of the controversial Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and not of the Prime Minister.
It bears recalling that Khurshid had been since January 8 expressing the views similar to the views as expressed by Rahul Gandhi. He had snubbed the political parties like the BJP, which had been demanding stringent action against Pakistan, and said that the foreign policy would not be allowed to be influenced by the parties like the BJP and that the "peace process" with Pakistan would not be allowed to be derailed. He had further outraged the sensitivities of the already outraged nation by claiming that there were some positive signals from Pakistan overlooking the highly outrageous statement of his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar that Pakistani army was not involved in the January 8 heinous crime. Khurshid got snubbed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a strong statement, but he virtually stuck to his earlier stand, notwithstanding his statement that it was for the Prime Minister to take a final decision and guide the Indian foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan.
It was clear from what Rahul Gandhi yesterday reportedly said in what is being termed as a brainstorming Jaipur conclave that he and Khurshid are on the same page as far as their attitude towards Pakistan is concerned. It is matter of grave concern that Rahul Gandhi, the Congress's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections, holds views which have the potential of further jeopardizing the national interests and promoting the Pakistani interests in the region. It would not be out of place to mention here that emotional aspect always plays a crucial role in the state formation.
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