Indians distressed that 8 years of Sonia’s UPA rule has brought India to such a pitiable state though it boasted about its sacred secularism that is also sinfully permissive over its urge to plunder using scams. UPA’s most portent plunder weapon is its pursuit of power whatever the costs be unconcerned about the pain fellow human beings may suffer. UPA use of power drives its greed to plunder more and more.
UPA’s rule is deeply scams tainted and grabbing power (PM Singh in India’s present context labels it compulsions of ‘coalition’ politics) is not morally legitimate. To those who plunder, moral or ethical considerations have no role. UPA especially the Congress is the worst offender. Though as political parties are elected to rule they owe a duty of trust to the voters to observe due care for the interest of the people who voted them in. Modi of the BJP accuses UPA of suffering from a trust deficit.
In domestic politics the UPA scam culture began to flourish in 1980’s with Rajiv’s Bofors scam followed by a string of other UPA scams some involving lakhs of crores. The Indian PM recently was accused of plundering public assets (coal blocks) converting and hoarded them in overseas banks. These funds should have been legitimately used to improve the living conditions of the public especially the poor. The UPA2 studiously submits itself to overseas banking laws for refusing to reveal the names of those who have hoarded scam wealth overseas. On the other hand UPA treats domestic laws against scam plunders lightly. The ‘how to’ escape guilt in scams textbook is the Bofors case. The public debate during the UPA2 centred mostly on the scams at top levels (Rajiv, M Singh, Congress ministers/politicians). The energies of the bureaucracy especially of the investigating agencies are expended more in covering up the scams and not in good governance and improving living conditions of the people. When the poor are plundered in this manner do the readers expect the UPA is paying penance for its sins with its much touted Food Security Ordinance. The UPA’s scam scandal also infected non-UPA states (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) but the UPA mis-used the Central government agencies like CBI to pressure the tainted non-Congress states into supporting the Congress led UPA to remain in power. The horse trading the Congress indulges in is itself not democratic, moral and legal.
UPA mis-used government investigating agencies to delay scam investigations allowing those involved to invariably escape accountability. An unperturbed UPA2 despite the hot debate on the string of UPA scams expect voters according to Minister Shinde to forget the scams (Chintan Shivir) and be re-elected to power. The period of Vajpayee’s rule was scandal and controversy free. Aswani Kumar, Law Minister sought unlawfully to materially alter a key CBI report to the SC to protect the UPA stalwarts specifically the heart of the UPA; the PM.
On the foreign front India was the prime mover in the NAM, the Afro-Asian movement, fighting colonialism and apartheid to enjoy world wide support. UPA’s secularism accommodated geopolitics that estroyed India’s moral standing and caused the drift away from the international community and its standing as a regional power. In the groundreport.com (4 July) an analyst produced an insightful piece ‘Indian (UPA) isolationism confronts world humanist international community over the Sri Lanka genocide’. History has it that relations with China and Pakistan will continue strained, but UPA India’s isolation in the UNHRC sessions is distressful that it had to be satisfied with a softer version on SL crimes or face embarrassing isolation. Sonia and UPA led India produced this precarious isolation.
The bungling anti-Tamil policies of Sonia, the South Block bureaucrats to counter the so-called growing China tilt of SL had a Swapan in the The Pioneer of 9 June who sought to assure the Rajapakses that Modi/BJP could be pressured into continuing Sonia/UPA SL appeasement policies. Also argued that SL had improved conditions in the North/Jaffna for the UNHRC/international community to relax pressure on SL’s accountability for SL/UPA crimes. Apologist Swapan line was more to save Sonia/South Block bureaucrats from hurt flowing from more embarrassing details of their ‘in the loop’ collaboration in the Rajapakse crimes being revealed during the continuing UNHRC review. These apologists repeat the ‘SL is a true friend of India’ mantra to Indians who constantly listen to the stream of Rajapakses’ anti-Indian snipes especially Swapan’s ‘Sri Lanka for all its sins today is one of those countries which we can call a friend’.
On the other hand a Modi (according to SK Mitre) is not for Sonia/Congress SL appeasement .. ‘India’s foreign policy planners have reduced the stature of India in the eyes of its neighbours ..India did nothing to stop the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils…failed to take a strong stand.. .’ The UPA requires rosy pictures on Rajapakses’ reconciliation works, to extricate from accountability proceedings not just for the Rajapakse but also the Sonia team for involvement in the SL/Rajapakse crimes (genocide, massacres, arms, RAW men and aerial over flights intelligence and massive displacements). These are under a regular UNHRC scrutiny regime. Sonia Delhi passively supports doctored progress reports on the SL ‘Reconciliation’to eye wash works mandated by the UNHRC.
The history of deprivation for Tamils rights goes back to the mob attacks that recurred with a regularity beginning from 1956 driving the Tamils back to the safety of the Tamil homelands. Now thanks to the Rajapakses and Sonia/M Singh Sinhala/Buddhist dispossession destroys numerous Hindu temples to provide space for Buddhist structures for the Buddhist/Sinhalas being settled in the Tamil homelands. In Delhi the secular Congress that is anti-Hindutva impassively watches this tragedy happening in stilled silence; A Hindutva BJP regime is bound to react sharply to such blatant Buddhist vandalism of the Hindu shrines.
Does Swapan seriously expect the BJP to reward him for buying the Rajapakses’ silence over the Sonia/UPA tragic association with the SL crimes, never mind whatever are the feelings of the TN Tamilians or those of Modi’s friend TN CM Jayalalitha. The success story of the Rajapakses buying out numerous high-powered UPA politicians, SM Krishna, SS Menon, South Block bureaucrats (MK Narayanan) and a long list apologists Raman, Hariharon amongst others may tempt Swapan to identify for the Rajapakses soft targets (individuals and institutions) connected to the BJP to cajole it into assisting the continuing SL genocide.
SL to dislodge the de facto rule of the powerful Eelam rebels in the North found in the corrupted Congress a most willing ally to defeat the LTTE/armed Eelam rebels and recoup what SL was not allowed to achieve during the BJP pre -2004 rule. Swapan argues that the LTTE wasn’t really an ordinary separatist movement…a menace…which had the ability to create a safe haven for itself in Tamil Nadu …that endangers Indian security. (a scare story)..which is why there was a basic understanding as far as Delhi were concerned that the destruction of the LTTE was a step in the right direction..’. This is the Sonia Congress story and Swapan its loyal apologist.
Swapan may attempt to mask Sonia/Congress’s foreign policy failures including their sins in SL; but Modi is keen on a role for India to redeem the ignominy inflicted on India by the Congress. Modi’s stance according to SK Mitra- (Indiatribune of Jun 21st) ‘India…has(to) ..at a time when its neighbours seem to have a dim view of its abilities and influence… The rebuffs and disrespectful remarks (of SL)… directed at India in the last few months prove beyond doubt that the foreign policy of the UPA has reached its nadir…while China has seldom …lost an opportunity to extend its sphere of influence. India’s foreign policy planners have reduced the stature of India in the eyes of its neighbours.. India did nothing to stop the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils…’. Modi’s policies are bound to be pro-active and not subscribe to the UPA line of appeasement.
‘The underhand tactics of the Rajapakses to buy off key personalities in Delhi are bound to fail under the committedly clean BJP leaders; like Vajpayee and Advani …then in power in Delhi until 2004’. The Tamil Net exposed the flaws in Swapan Dasgupta’s logic specifically canvassing for military bases in Jaffna on behalf the Rajapakses though the SL military ‘operates below the radar’. All the boasted roads and other buildings including Buddhist structures in the North are essentially for use by the military and settle more Sinhalese to erase the historical reality of a predominantly Hindu Tamil homelands. For Swapan to give a nod to omit police powers to the Northern Province under the 13th amendment has no other purpose than to keep Eelam Tamils in perpetual subjugation. The Tamil rebels had for long kept the SL navy and army confined to their bases and the TN fishermen were not subject to the SL harassment they face today. Chinese personnel roam the SL northern shores spying on India’s ‘soft underbelly’ (Nateri Adigal) thanks to the South Block’s China geo-politics. These are bound to change with Modi and BJP in power.