National security is paramount

Shiban Khaibri
Indian coastal guards need to be highly complimented for having acted promptly and prevented yet another possible disguised misadventure by Pakistan probably more or less on the pattern of 26/11 against this country. They   intercepted a boat coming from one of the smallest ports from Pakistan during the intervening night of Dec 31 last year, and tried to stop it. The boat tried to flee, was chased for an hour and the occupants finding themselves undone, they   blew the boat and ended themselves up off the Porbandhar coast. Like this, a possible loss of life and property on account of a suspected terror strike in the country was averted.
The question as to whether this matter concerning the most sensitive issue of national security should get mired into political controversies needs to be addressed at length. Its far reaching repercussions, the morale of the security and intelligence agencies, the impression created nationally and internationally,  need sincerely to be dived into deep by political Parties across the country whether in power or otherwise. Policies and principles by political parties and its leaders towards issues of utmost national importance need to be perpetually consistent and inelastic irrespective of whether in Government or in opposition.
The terror boat politics witnessed after its self inflicted destruction hovered on the conclusion that even national security is made hostage to political dramas. Congress Party which is the oldest political Party with a noted role in the independence movement of the country as well as in its inevitable partition, challenged government’s claim  citing “contrary opinions appearing in public domain”. The spokesperson of Congress and a former cabinet Minister said,” It is obvious people would want to know ……what exactly happened …..the Government has been putting out source-based information in the media”. It therefore chose to put avoidable and unnecessary questions which, as a matter of fact, must have embarrassed the Congress much more than it could do the government. Like this, it unwittingly played in the hands of Pakistan which got an opportunity to challenge the view of the Indian government impliedly citing the “voices of doubt and suspicion” which rose in India about the boat having sailed from Pakistan. The questions were further raised like that “there should be investigations “, “The boat could have been carrying drugs or diesel for sale”, “where is the debris and the bodies” etc? The basic question, however, is that why should questions at all be asked and evidence sought in such sensitive matter thus building up a case for Pakistan? The “demand” that the government should “come clean” on the matter is tantamount to giving much needed ammunition to Pakistan. If, God forbid the terror boat could have succeeded even slightly in its devilish mission, the same Congress would have come out with “failing on all fronts” and only “promising but doing nothing” and all types of volleys of allegations of incompetence and what not against the government. The ruling Party lost no time in saying, “one cannot differentiate between the voices of the Congress spokespersons and the Pakistani spokespersons”.
The intrusion into Indian waters of this boat is unlike those fishing boats of both the countries which mistakenly very often stray into each other’s waters as the area where the terror boat was intercepted is by no means a fishing area. The question that the boat was intercepted in Porbandhar waters and tried to flee when challenged and later blew itself up should leave no room for suspicion again in the light of the saying “once bitten twice shy” as the horrors of 26/11 still are fresh in the minds and the psyche of the countrymen. It is unfortunate that the Congress should exhibit that it no longer was ready to trust this government elected to power with an overwhelming majority, even on matters of national security. Some even feel that the Congress felt envied over prompt and precise action by this government in the instant case before causing any damage here as against  how the terror boat in respect of 26/11 touched Mumbai without any resistance and rest of the story is well known.
No one can question the role of opposition in our democracy and that it has all rights to criticize and question the government where it felt that it committed errors but it should never indulge in opposing blindly simply because it has to oppose. In that case, it neither serves the tenets of democracy nor the national interest besides belittling the country’s position internationally. Why not, the whole avoidable controversy initiated by the Congress Party is much to the delight of Pakistan.
Premature critique should find no space in political and administrative decisions involving terror in any of its forms. The colour of the smoke theory or “they were chottey mottey diesel sellers” or “these poor people were smugglers  of a bit of liquor or drugs” etc; are providing a cover to potent dangers to our country, irrespective of the nature and magnitude.
It may be recalled that a similar “under doubt” stance was taken by a few political leaders including from the then ruling Congress about the genuineness of Batla encounter which took place on Sept19, 2008 wherein two people were killed in exchange of fire . One of the bravest Officers of Delhi Police Shri Mohan Chand Sharma got martyred. How could these leaders for cheap vote Bank politics afford to have forgotten that the organization whose suspects were found in Batla House had been allegedly instrumental in Sept 13, 2008 serial blasts in Delhi killing 30 and wounded 130, some of them seriously? Should any kind of sympathy ooze from any leader or any political Party for those on whom the security or Police authorities zero in as confirmed perpetrators or those countries who train and sponsor them against this country? The government should never buckle under any pressure from these pseudo experts and “elections lost” leaders and pursue a stringent policy of no tolerance for terror.
That is not the end of the story. Recently terror attacks  committed followed by hostage  and siege in Paris killing 14 people were condemned by everyone across the globe but a top Congress leader and a former cabinet Minister who had predicted scornfully that “Modi would never, never and never become the PM and that he would be provided with some space to sell tea in the Congress office” has held the view  “it is a backlash of what America did post 9/11 in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries- Drone attacks killing innocents and poor people”. He goes on to justify the “backlash” by asking France as to why Hijab in that country was not permitted”? He goes on to say “they think it is their world only, they shall have to learn. It is only to be expected that these powerless people should explore powerless ways of backlash…” It is shocking that such irresponsible statements against terror should come from a political leader of a country which has suffered the most for nearly 30 years because of terror. This smacks of how little concern is there for the national security from such apologists for terror.

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