The Sonia Gandhiled Congress, which quite often behaves like the All-India Muslim League has behaved since its formation in December 1906 at Dacca (new Dhaka), once again proved on November 10 that it is committed to weakening the Indian sovereignty in Jammu & Kashmir and undermining the very institution of the Indian State. How else should one interpret the decision of the Sonia-controlled, guided and directed UPA Government to allow anti-India meetings between Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif's adviser on security and foreign relations, and Kashmiri separatists at Pakistan High Commission in Delhi? The meeting between Sartaj Aziz and Kashmiri separatists took place in the evening after the national president of the principal Opposition party Rajnath Singh had already warned the UPA Government that the proposed meeting between Sartaj Aziz and Kashmiri separatists, if materialised, will constitute "another diplomatic blunder" and brazen interference in the internal affairs of India.
"Shocked to see that the UPA Government has allowed Pakistani Prime Minister's adviser Sartaj Aziz to hold talks with Kashmiri separatist leaders in New Delhi," BJP national president Rajnath Singh tweeted. Earlier, Rajnath Singh charged the UPA Government with going "soft on Kashmir issue" and questioned its decision on allowing talks between Sartaj Aziz, who's in Delhi to attend the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers' meet on November 11 and 12, and the Kashmiri separatists.
The truth is that Rajnath Singh, without mincing words, accused the Government of allowing Pakistan to interfere in the internal affairs of India and "internationalise" the Kashmir issue and suggested that the Government's decision was against the fundamental tenets of diplomacy. Indeed, Rajnath Singh made a very valid point by saying what he said. That Sonia Gandhi and her men in the UPA Government will not pay any heed to the national and rational counsel of Rajnath Singh was a foregone conclusion. After all, the Congress-led UPA Government had behaved in an irresponsible manner and compromised the Indian position umpteen times after May 21, 2004, when the Italian origin president of the Congress appointed a refugee from Pakistan, Manmohan Singh, as the Prime Minister of India. The appointment of Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister was an indication of the direction the South Block and North Block will move as far as international relations, socio-economic policies and internal security-related matters were concerned.
One can refer to a number of such meetings between Pakistan Foreign Ministers and diplomats and Kashmiri separatists which took place both in New Delhi and Islamabad after Manmohan Singh was planted in the South Block, which clearly indicates that the UPA Government never protected and advanced further the country's legitimate sovereign interests and lowered the Indian position in the eyes of the international community. It would be only proper to say that the Congress and its Prime Minister never missed any opportunity to appease the aggressors like Pakistan and China; embitter relations with neighbouring friendly countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives and bring shame to India. It is neither desirable nor possible to refer to all such instances in this essay. A reference here to just three such meetings would be in order and suffice: On July 26, 2011, a highly articulate, assertive and provocative Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met the leadership of two factions of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference soon after her arrival in the capital for her ministerial engagement with the then Union Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna. She met the Kashmiri separatists before she met her Indian counterpart. And during her meeting with Kashmiri separatists, she, like Sartaj Aziz, reiterated Pakistan's resolve to continue with the "political, diplomatic and moral support" to the ongoing communal and secessionist movement in the Kashmir valley. Aziz reportedly told the separatists that "Pakistan would continue to provide moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiris" (read Kashmiri-speaking ethnic Sunnis). Again, on July 3, 2012, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani met eight Kashmiri separatists, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, at the Pakistan High Commission. He met them ahead of his meeting with his Indian counterpart on July 4 and 5. Not the least, on December 14, 2012, Pakis-tan Interior Minister Rehman Malik reached India to hold talks with Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and the following day a delegation of Hurriyat Conference left New Delhi for Pakistan to hold talks with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The Hurriyat delegation, at the invitation of Islamabad, visited Pakistan for seven days. Knowing full well that the Hurriyat delegation would pour venom on India in Pakistan, the Regional Passport Officer at Srinagar issued passports to the separatists. It was obvious that the Union Home Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs worked in complete unison to facilitate the visit of Hurriyat leaders to Pakistan. The Indian Foreign Office's stand in July and December 2012 was similar to the stand the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid took on November 10. When asked by reporters how he looked at the meetings between Sartaj Aziz and Tehrik-e-Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani, APHC-M chairman Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Yasin Malik, Salman Khurshid, who has, like his predecessor SM Kris-hna, repeatedly let down India, said that "several foreign ministers are in the capital for the meeting but the Government has nothing to do with their private engagements during their stay in Delhi". By describing the anti-India meetings between Sartaj Aziz and Kashmiri separatists in the Capital as "private engagements", Salman Khurshid proved that the Congress-led UPA Government in general and Sonia Gandhi and Man-mohan Singh in particular have nothing to do with paramount Indian interests and that they are working in tandem to promote the geo-political and communal interests of Pakistan in J&K and accord a dangerous legitimacy to the discredited Kashmiri separatists like Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik, whose area of influence is limited to a few pockets in Srinagar city and a couple of other towns, including parts of Sopore tehsil in Kashmir. For example, the area of influence of Geelani is limited to a part of Hyderpora locality, that of Mirwaiz to Jamia Masjid area and that of Malik to parts of Maisuma locality - all located in Srinagar city. Of course, Geelani also has some support-base in Sopore, his home town. The people of Jammu and Ladakh, who constitute more than half of the State's population and occupy over 88 per cent of the State's land area, have nothing to do with these separatists. They, in fact, hate and despise them. The November 10 meetings between Sartaj Aziz and the Kashmiri separatists, which took place under the nose of the UPA Government and undoubtedly is an affront to the self-respect of the Indians, has once again vindicated those who held the view that the Congress and the UPA Government did not represent India and, if India is to survive as a proud nation and the Indians to lead a dignified life, the decimation of the Congress at the earliest is imperative. It is fortunate that the nation has got in the person of Narendra Modi, the BJP prime ministerial nominee, a steersman. Seize the opportunity, streng-then his hands and decimate the Congress. To allow the Congress some more time would be only to cause an irreparable damage to India. There should be no doubt about it. That the Congress and the UPA Government could barter the paramount sovereign interests to appease and please Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists could also be seen from what J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on November 10 while reflecting on the proposed meetings between Sartaj Aziz and the Kashmiri separatists. He said New Delhi (read the Congress and the UPA Government) is amenable and can be easily persuaded to conciliate the Kashmiri separatists.
Courtesy: www.niticentral.com |
