Indian politics is experiencing a dangerous trend: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress locking horns over an alleged “terror boat,” which reportedly originated from Pakistan and was destroyed after a high drama in the high seas on the New Year day.
The Congress party refused to agree with the government version that the boat had possible terror links. The Narendra Modi government had buttressed its claim that it was a “terror boat” by saying that its occupants, at least four of them were sighted during the hours-long standoff in the high seas, had blown up the boat and presumably themselves too when the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) challenged the vessel.
The next day reports emerged in the Indian media that it was not a “terror boat” and the ICG overreacted in dealing with the vessel, which was probably occupied by petty smugglers.
The government also released four colored pictures of the boat on fire. By saying that the occupants of the boat themselves blew up the boat the government hinted at the possible terror links because smugglers do not blow themselves up when cornered; they simply surrender.
What is disconcerting in the ever-intensifying war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress is that the two parties have become so inimical to each other and so distrustful of each other that they are singing radically different tunes on a matter of national security.
The BJP has accused the Congress of speaking in the language of Pakistan. Incidentally Pakistan has already dismissed the Indian government’s contention on the boat episode as a “very silly allegation.”
Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam trashed the Indian government’s claims saying, “I think this is a very silly allegation. We have checked with our authorities, no boats from Pakistan left … We saw the boat burn, it did not blow up. There have been various contradictory claims.”
Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has gone on record as saying thus: “The boat was in constant touch with various authorities which are located in Pakistan and linked with Pakistani naval maritime security agencies.” However, he did not give further details.
After a series of hawkish remarks against the Congress by several BJP leaders, the political waters were roiled further on Tuesday by none other than BJP President Amit Shah who tauntingly asked the Congress whether the political party is fighting elections from India or Pakistan.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked the BJP government by accusing it of making “a PR event” out of national security and demanded to know what action the government was taking about 12 Indian fishermen who were allegedly abducted by Pakistan as a retaliatory step. Incidentally, the 12 abducted Indian fishermen are from Gujarat, the native state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Surjewala further said, “It is our right as the Opposition to question the conflicting reports in the media. NTRO (National Technical Research Organization) and the IB (Intelligence Bureau) or RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) have two different versions (of the incident).”
But the feistiest Congress counter has come from former Union Minister Manish Tewari. In his own inimitable Queen’s English (which often makes people consult a dictionary), Tewari said, “Congress doesn’t need lessons on nationalism from chaperones of terrorism.”
The remark “chaperones of terrorism” is a reference to the then top minister in the BJP-led Atal Bihari Vajpayee government escorting four terrorists to Kandahar in Afghanistan in exchange for hijacked passengers and crew of Indian Airlines plane IC 814 in December 1999.
Tewari rubbed it in further by saying that the Modi government had failed to handle national security, which was evident from the fact that there were civilian casualties along the India-Pakistan border. “Why is there such a heightened activity on international border? The government needs to put out all the facts on the boat in the public space,” he said.
The most disconcerting aspect of the ongoing BJP-Congress spat on the “terror boat” issue is that here is the main opposition party which is not prepared to trust the government and here is the ruling party which is dubbing the 130-year-old Congress party anti-national. This is a recipe for political disaster and fraught with dangerous consequences for the country as a whole.
The BJP feels that the Congress is being churlish and is not able to digest its worst-ever electoral defeat and because of this the grand old party is now like a whining child opposing each and every action of the government.
The Congress is angry and feels that is only doing to the BJP government what the BJP did to the Congress-led government for past one decade.
“Trust deficit” is one expression, which has always come into play in context of India’s relations with countries like Pakistan and China. Seldom has this expression come into a domestic conversation as it has come now in context of relations between the BJP and the Congress.
For the past one decade, parliament has been best known for noisy disruptions and political slugfests within the house, rather than being what it stands for: A temple of democracy. But now the political logjam threatens to be all pervasive. These are dangerous signals for the Indian polity and democracy.
