Friday, 3 December 2004

Take up the right issues

 Take up the right issues

By Gopal K Agarwal,

UPA should set its priorities right and stop ignoring questions of national interest, say

It's time the citizens of the coun I try took a firm decision They should either accept the hypocrisy of the current regime with regard to policies like secularism, economic reforms and creation of employment opportunities on the one hand and its indifference to in ternal security on the other, or they should prepare to confront the Government to answer certain ques tions before the nation.

Everybody will accept that there cannot be any compromise as far as the security of the country is concerned. It is an established fact that Pakistan is involved in cross-border terrorism and India has been trying to convey this to the whole world. But the recent joint statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf was conspicuously missing the above point. It seemed to convey a shift in India's stand on the issue. There is a sudden spurt in violence in the Northeast, where Pakistan's ISI's involvement is suspected. But both the Home Minister and the Defence Minister seem helpless about it.

More worrisome is the Congress's dillydallying on the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. General SK Sinha, the former Governor of Assam, in his report to the then President, had pointed out that large-scale illegal immigration from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), over several decades, has been altering the demographic complexion of the State. These demographic changes are a major cause of concern, he had further pointed out, which can lead to severing of the entire Northeast from the rest of the country. This will have disastrous strategic and economic consequences. Even countries like Malaysia have taken a tough stand on the issue of illegal immigrants. But our Government, in its zeal to please the minority, cannot take tough decisions.

The Congress is resorting to the rhetoric of its "secular" credentials and hypocritically trying to please the minority. It has set up a commission on the reservation for minorities. which was stalled by the Election Commission. Further, the announcement of reservation to mi norities in Andhra Pradesh was quashed by the High Court. I must add that all the rhetoric about secularism by these people is based on deception, of which all of us are well aware. Yet it persists.

Most people of the country will agree that we need a strong and effective law to combat terrorism but this Government has repealed POTA and has not brought any law in its place. The Government could have modified some provisions. The discovery of explosives in the form of scrap shows the recklessness of our Government in handling the sensitive issue of internal security. At the present juncture, any compromise with the internal security of the country is unacceptable and the Government should come out with a firm stand.

Internal security is not the only issue of concern. A lot of confusion has been spread about economic reforms mainly due to differences in thinking of the Congress and the Left parties- whether it is foreign direct investment, PSU's disinvestments or panel of experts in the Planning Commission. If India has to progress economically, it requires a clear-cut direction and roadmap.

Then, look at the hypocrisy of the Left. In West Bengal, they are taking help of foreigners, but at the Centre, they are opposing it. They don't want the disinvestment of PSU's and want to keep them as their fiefdom. The Left would like them to bleed and would continue wasting the exchequer's money. People know that many of the PSU's are being misused by ministers and are working with complete inefficiency to the extent that they have not even completed their accounts for several years Such wastage of money will con- tinue. The Finance Minister wants to unleash a reign of terror in the name of tax collection. He is giving draconian powers to raid, harass and confiscate properties of the taxpayers to a level of an inspector in a department which is known to be the most corrupt of all the Government departments.

There are many major issues where the present Government should concentrate-like controlling spiralling inflations, creating employment opportunities as promised. putting new life to road construction. building social security network. keeping the rising interest rate under control and, most of all. Strengthening internal security. But it diverts public attention by raking up emotive issues like removing Veer Savarkar's plaque from the Cellular jail, arresting Ms Uma Bharati on the issue of hoisting Tiranga, making noise over detoxification of the educational system. All this while it could have easily reviewed the portions which it found objectionable. It is going to the extent of creating a situation in which the Opposition is provoked continuously, especially when the Leader of the Opposition is not allowed to speak in the House. The Opposition is further provoked when a group of ministers is set up to review every decision of the past Government.

It is time the Government got down to constructive work. It must get rid of vindictiveness and authoritarianism and stop victimizing people of different ideology. By appointing its own persons, the UPA Government is being instrumental in destroying some of our great institutions which have been established by our forefathers.

(The writer is National Convener, BJP Economic Cell.)