National Security as an Election Issue?

The Twenty20 cricket tournament of the Indian Premier League has gone out of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />India…Australia has refused to play Davis Cup in India…Will it be the same story in 2010 when Commonwealth Games are to be held in India?  A country which is facing frequent terrorist attacks and security threats needs a determined leader and a decisive government.  Vote Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) by pressing the button opposite the Lotus.

 

This was the kind of panic the BJP was trying to create in the nation.  And, it was trying to create the impression that it can provide better national security though records prove that the BJP/National Democratic Alliance rule for over six years has a much worse track record of national security as compared to the Congress/United Progressive Alliance governments for 49 years.  In fact, there is no comparison.  The Congress has a much better track record than the BJP on national security issues.

 

The BJP campaign managers were trying to steal the “fear psychosis phenomenon” from the George Bush campaign when he was running for a second term.  The security threat from Iraq, as we all know, was more ‘drummed up’ than ‘real.’  It worked once in the United States of America. By the next elections, the people of USA realized that they had been taken for a ride…that the Bush administration lied…that the American people were deceived.  Look at what happened this time? The Republicans took a body blow.

 

The success of Narendra Modi in the Gurjarat Assembly Polls  for the second time has gone to his head.  Now, he thinks of himself as an authority unto himself.  Now, he thinks of himself in ‘larger-than-life’ terms.  He drew the union home minister, P. Chidambaram, into a controversy.  He said sending the IPL out of India will send out a wrong message to the international community that India is not a safe country.  If this came from someone outside our country, it was understandable.  But, coming from the chief minister of an Indian state, this was unacceptable.

 

Modi’s statement was mischievous, to say the least.  Chidambaram did the right thing by not biting at the bait.  Chidambaram knew that managing the Indian elections was a huge security exercise in  itself.  It was no joke.  The election process involved 8.35 lakh polling stations; 47 lakh polling staff out of which 8.34 lakh were booth level officers; and 8,070 candidates fighting for 543 Lok Sabha seats. Then, there were assembly polls in some states which were simultaneously conducted. We now know that 40.5 crore people turned up to vote.  If we had the IPL in India, many of the matches would have clashed with the poll dates.  It would have made mobilization of security staff difficult and tricky. Most important, it would have exposed both the elections as well as the IPL to security risks. 

 

Chidambaram placed national interest above the interest of cricket.  He did the right thing. Election is a once-in-five-years exercise.  The IPL would be played every year. True, we lost some revenue and thrill.  But, that is okay.  Fortunately, the elections went smoothly without much untoward events. Thanks to Chidambaram and the UPA government.

 

If we had the elections and the IPL together, it would have been a great security risk. Even after pooling in all the security staff at our disposal, we were short by 15,000 troops.  If we had decided to have the elections and the IPL matches side-by-side, the security for both would have been insufficient.  And, if something had gone wrong, Narendra Modi and the BJP would have been the first ones to cry foul. 

 

Coming to national security, what national security are the BJP talking about?  When Mumbai was hit by the 26/11 terror attack, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been magnanimous enough to invite Lal Krishna Advani to accompany him to Mumbai on his visit to take stock of the situation.  Advani first agreed to go with him and backed out later.  Advani and other BJP leaders also skipped the meeting called by the prime minister to review the 26/11 terror attacks in order to campaign for

BJP candidates in Rajasthan assembly polls.  That is the kind of commitment the BJP has for national security.  It can sacrifice national interest for party interest.

 

There were assembly polls in five states: Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya. Initially, the BJP said it would play a constructive role and that it would not make 26/11 an election issue.  But, within days it became the main election plank for the BJP because it saw in it a stairway to power.  It projected the UPA as a weak government which cannot deal with terror attacks.

 

When the results were declared the UPA/Congress had won in three of them in spite of the ruckus created by the BJP on national security. Clearly, BJP’s tantrums on national security did not pay dividends. 

 

So, what did the BJP do?  The BJP said national security is not an election issue for the Indian people. How ridiculous?  If BJP is not voted to power, how does national security become a non-issue?  National security was indeed an important issue and by voting Congress to power, the people of India had sent home the message that it trusts the Congress with the security of the nation and not the BJP. 

 

What is BJP’s claim to national security?  We had the parliament attack during their reign.  We had the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 hijacked during their regime.  There was terrorist strike on the army unit in the heart of Red Fort in Delhi.  The Akshardham temple was attacked.  For more details of terror strikes on India during the BJP regime please follow this link: http://my.nowpublic.com/world/determined-leader-remains-prime-minister-waiting

 

Vajpayee invited trouble when he invited Musharraf for the Agra summit.  He thought he would pull off a coup but ended up compromising India’s prestige.  The Vajpayee government almost signed on the CTBT.  After the 1971 war, Pakistan never dared any misadventure on our northern frontiers.  After a calm on the Indo-Pak border for 18 years, Pakistan dared to draw India into the Kargil war during Vajpayee’s term.  How the Vajpayee government handled the Kargil war, the less said the better.  And, after sacrificing so many young soldiers, the government celebrated “Vijay Diwas.”

 

After all this,  one fails to understand how the BJP is trying to project itself as a party that could ensure better national security?  Two main incidents that multiplied Islamic terror strikes in India are the demolition of Babri masjid and the post-Godhra riots.  Who do you blame for these?