Save The Constitution: From Whom?

The attempt of the Congress party to impeach the Chief Justice of India merely on allegations has set a very dangerous precedent for our polity. Democratic values require that political parties have patience when in opposition. Democratic constitutions have carved out a special place for opposition and they are supposed to play that role responsibly. The problem has arisen because the Congress believes it has birthright to rule over India and its commitment to democratic ethos holds good only till it keeps retaining power. Once out of power, it is working to undermine the very structure that keeps the country together. Congress’s disdain for democratic values is also very clear from the complete absence of it in its inner party structure and workings. Congress is not an ideologically coherent party and power is the glue that keeps it together. There is no ‘lakshman rekha’ for it. This has been the history of the Congress and its first family.

Jawahar Lal Nehru made concerted attempts to ensure that any challenge to his government or to his leadership did not emerge from any corner. As prime minister, he undermined the contributions of his contemporaries in the Congress like Sardar Patel, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee etc and sought to discredit rival ideologies, for e.g, by linking the murder of Mahatma Gandhi to the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Emergency, the only blot on our vibrant democracy, was imposed by the Congress government under Smt Indira Gandhi, when she saw power slipping out of her hands. Similarly Rajiv Gandhi, in his desperate attempt to woo Muslim electorate, reversed the hon’ble Supreme Court’s verdict in the Shah Bano case and when faced by a political backlash, allowed the shilanyas at Ram Janmbhoomi at Ayodhya. It is in this context that Salman Kurshid had to accept that Congress has the blood of Muslims on its hands.

It has to be accepted that our Government, in spite of many initiative still being work in progress, has done a remarkable job in a short span of 4 years and is comfortably placed for 2019 general election. Thus, Congress is faced with an existential dilemma and has resorted to mindless and vicious attacks on constitutional and other institutions. It has done greatest disservice to the nation by attacking the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the Defense Forces.

When Congress performed abysmally in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017, it laid the blame on the door of the venerable Election Commission of India and the electronic voting machines (EVM). Democracy has taken deep roots in this country because the people have faith in its electoral process. A country deemed to be unfit for democracy, has seen peaceful transfers of power. By questioning the credibility and impartiality of election commission, Congress is sowing seeds of a tree that will bear bitter fruits in the future.

Similar has been the attitude of the Congress towards the hon’ble Supreme Court of India. So long as the Congress did not have problems with the decisions of the Supreme Court, it chose to keep quite but raised grave doubts on the impartiality of this institution when in certain matters the decisions did not meet the wishes of the Party. The most reprehensible attempt to bully the higher judiciary of the country was its decision to impeach the Chief Justice of India on completely baseless grounds, which was rejected by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

It must be said that the manner in which the impeachment drama has unfolded has led credence to the theory that the initial threat of impeachment was a hint to the CJI of the consequence that was likely to follow if he did not deliver order which the Congress wanted in the PIL seeking investigation in Judge Loya’s death. The initiation of impeachment is also to compel the CJI to not take up the Ayodhya dispute matter.

In September, 2016 the Government announced that Indian armed forces had carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pakistan sponsored terrorism. Congress demanded proof from the government about the surgical strikes. Dragging the completely apolitical defense forces in the political slugfest was a new low in Indian politics.

Contrast all these with the behavior of the BJP and its predecessor Jan Sangh. It had ideological differences with the Congress government but it showed full faith in democracy and has never attacked the democratic institutions. We kept patience for 60 years since independence expressing dissent, but never disrupting governance.

In a vast country like India with diversity and long historical background there is bound to be a multiplicity of values, interests and beliefs and multiple parties representing them, but parties that undermine the building blocks of this country and its society, will not be accepted by the voters. The same fate awaits the Congress party now under Rahul Gandhi.

Gopal Krishna Agrawal

National Spokesperson of BJP

Gopal.agarwal@bjp.org

Modi in China: Mending strained ties for mutual benefit

The global interest generated by the visit of prime minister Narendra Modi to Wuhan for an ‘informal’ summit meeting with the Chinese president Xi Jinping is a testimony to the importance of these two Asian giants in the present global order. China and India are not only important for each other, their agreements or disagreements on issues can now influence the global narrative. The world today is dealing with intractable issues of terrorism, rise in protectionism and climate change and both India and China have to make important contributions in these matters.

Modi government’s foreign policy has been focused on developing bilateral ties to serve India’s interest with various countries. Bilateral relations are all about give-and-take.

There are many sore points in the Indo-China relationship from our point of view. The dispute arising from China’s refusal to accept Macmohan line as the international border hangs like Damocles sword over our relationship and the standoff at Doklam was a chilling reminder of it. China’s unqualified support to Pakistan has also been a cause of concern here. It has allowed Pakistan to raise its stakes against India. India has also expressed its displeasure at the ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) passing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). India’s attempt to get Masood Azhar designated as international terrorist by the United Nations has constantly been vetoed by China. It has also frustrated India’s goal of becoming a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). China’s refusal to share river water data on Brahmaputra and others was also an irritant.

China has its own reasons to be frosty with India. India’s asylum to Tibetians is not viewed very kindly by it. India’s growing proximity with United States of America and the coalescing of this association with Japan and Australia with a view to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea irks China. Chinese riding roughshod over its smaller neighbours has led these countries to develop closer ties with India, which even with all its limitations, is seen as a country that can stand up to China. It is in this background that this informal summit is taking place.

In spite of all these hiccups, there are several considerations in which India can be benefited from better ties with China. China is the biggest trading partner of India and runs a considerable balance of trade surplus with India at around $50 billion. India has expressed its discomfort at this skewed trade relationship and China has expressed its willingness to address the issue. With the labour cost rising in China, a lot of low value addition manufacturing will become internationally uncompetitive and will have to move out to countries. India can benefit from this by insisting that Indian MSME clusters be made part of Chinese global supply chain. The second leg of achieving trade balance can be higher exports of agricultural and pharmaceutical goods and IT services. India must insist that tariff and non-tariff barriers do not stultify the export of Indian products and services in these categories. It is of paramount importance that India finds outlet for its increasing agricultural production, failing which Indian farmers will continue to suffer from price crashes. India should also insist on local production of Chinese imports to bring down trade deficit. Such a shift in manufacturing will also complement government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

India also stands to benefit if it can attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from China. According to the provisional figures for the year 2016-17 of the Reserve Bank of India, FDI received from China was USD 198 million whereas the total FDI received that year was USD 36.32 billion. Thus China’s share in total FDI was about 0.55 percent. According to the World Investment Report 2017, which was jointly released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, China was the second largest source of outward FDI in the year 2016 with the figure being USD 183 billion. China as a source of FDI is therefore virtually untapped. These FDI can be in the field of Power, Fintech, infrastructure sector and railways, where India needs huge capital investments.

India can also work with China in the areas of energy security, water security and climate change. Indian and Chinese interests converge on the issue of energy security as they both are dependent on foreign sources of fossil fuels. At the recently concluded 16^th International Energy Forum, it was agreed that India and China will work together to leverage their buying power to get better deals from oil exporting countries. China can also be of great help in developing our renewable energy sector. Mansarovar, which is the source of three major rives that pass through India, lies in China and we need Chinese cooperation in order to fully utilize these rivers.

Gains to China from a good relationship with India are also considerable. Assured of a responsible behavior from China in consonance with the international laws, India will have no reason to be a part of any international containment strategy against China. Further, as China prospers it would need outlet for its capital. India, with its vast market, can be one of the attractive opportunities. China’s most ambitious global signature project of One Belt One Road, which seeks to recreate the silk route of the old times, cannot be truly successful without the participation of India.

India and China share very old cultural and civilizational ties. It is hoped that the sagacity of the leadership of these two countries at the Wuhan meet will provide the two countries with a new template to revive the old bonds.

Gopal Krishna Agrawal

National Spokesperson on Economic affairs of BJP

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