In the second part of a series of blogs aimed at educating BJP cadre on the party’s official line on various national issues, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday explained the hard-State line on national security as “Modi Doctrine” vis-à-vis Pakistan, terrorism, insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and Left-wing extremism. The Finance Minister said as opposed to the “Modi Doctrine”, the Opposition, especially the Congress, has “weakened” national security for political and “vote-bank” considerations.
Jaitley said the Congress does not oppose the idea of a pro-active approach in destroying terror but is disturbed over the impact it has had on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. He concluded that the Congress’s dithering stand on air strikes in Pakistan has backfired and it seems that the principal Opposition party has scored a “self-goal”.
“The Congress is one with the government on condemning Pulwama but is disturbed about Balakot. Thus, it repeatedly rubbishes the surgical strikes. On the Air strikes, their conduct is even more dubious. While giving lip sympathy to the Indian Air Force for the first two days, they started questioning the success of the strikes and demanded proof that terrorists had died at Balakot. They even contended that the strike had taken place not against terror but to ensure the BJP’s victory in the forthcoming elections,” said Jaitley.
‘Legacy issues’
“This was also playing into the hands of Pakistan where statements of Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were played out on television channels in Pakistan. Pakistan government cited these statements to bolster their own falsehood,” he added. The Congress had no structured plan during the 10 years of UPA rule, on how to deal with the problems of J&K.
“PM Modi inherited this as a legacy issue. He experimented the conventional method of trying to soften the relationship with Pakistan in a hope that wiser sense would prevail, but Pakistan responded with Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama,” he said.
The Finance Minister said the BJP-led government, both at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh, had a consistently strong position against Left wing extremism.
“From JNU to Chhattisgarh, the Congress has struck a deal with them. There are increasing instances of Left wing extremists actively encouraging the Kashmiri Jehadis in the Kashmir valley,” he alleged.
“This is a choice before the electorate in the 2019 general elections. Can an over-ground ally of Left wing extremism be put in power at New Delhi? Can those who have weakened the battle against terror for the cause of vote bank politics be trusted? Should not those who have played into the Pakistani hands be taught a severe lesson in these elections?
Unhesitatingly, the answer to the above question is a big ‘yes’.