Bharatiya Janata Party
National Executive Meeting
National Executive Meeting
Panaji (Goa)
8-9 June, 2013
8-9 June, 2013
RESOLUTION ON SURAKSHA AND SWABHIMAN
The country’s internal and external
security scenario is under severe threat. The rising incidence of
Maoist violence, terrorism and incidents of incursions and intrusions
along the international borders with China and Pakistan are pointers to a
greater concern. The internal security situation had never been so
grave and it has got further compounded by a new low in our relations
with neighbouring countries.
The Congress led UPA II is completing
its tenure placing at high risks our internal and external security.
Our national stature and prestige is badly eroded. Our fishermen are
being captured and killed in southern seas, our soldiers are beheaded
and mutilated on our Northern borders, our boundaries are violated at
will umpteen times on Indo-China borders. The latest being, the
incursion by Chinese troops almost 19 kms inside Indian Territory and
holding its position for nearly a month. India is being dishonoured,
trivialised and its legitimate authority questioned. Our government at
the centre, at best is only offering platitudes to its citizens.
Threat to Internal Security
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemns the
barbaric attack carried out by naxals on the convoy of Congress leaders
in Chhattisgarh on May 25, 2013 about a couple of years after the brutal
killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. With this recent attack, the
Maoists have declared war against the Nation. This is a direct assault
on democracy. Maoists believe in bullet and not ballot, and want to
throw out democratic government through barrel of gun. Let us be clear
that the fight of the Maoists is not actually about development or
rights of the tribals, it is merely sheaths that cloak their real and
unequivocal agenda, capturing power through violence and not democratic
participation and means.
The latest attack also exposes the new
aggressive strategy of Maoist, which is ambushing the security forces,
targeting the political leadership, carrying out abductions of
government officials, threatening local elected representatives and
extorting the public. Their brutality was on display when they put
placard around the neck of the abducted officer stating that he was a
"prisoner of war".
The nation is facing the biggest
challenge to its internal security from the Maoists. The Prime Minister
Shri Manmohan Singh, at an earlier occasion, described Left wing
extremism as “the biggest threat to India”. But, there is not matching
action from the government.
The incongruity in the Congress’ policy
of dealing with naxalism on the one hand whilst on the other,
particularly during elections, doing deals with them, comes to the
surface periodically. Such reports have emerged from Andhra Pradesh and
from Chhattisgarh.
Post the Bastar attack on May 25, 2013,
the Congress indulged in blame game by targeting the State Government.
However, the preliminary reports emanating from the National
Investigative Agency (NIA) have pointed finger of suspicion on a few
congressmen as having maintained links with the Maoists even as being a
part of the targeted convoy. The Congress owes an explanation on this.
Since coming to power at the Centre in
2004 and prior to the Dantewada massacre, the Congress party and the
central government, have been lecturing to the states about dealing with
the Naxals/Maoists. In 2005, the Prime Minister Shri Mamohan Singh
while expressing his concern over the spread of the Left wing extremism
referred to the “virtual collapse” of law and order in some parts of the
country.
In 2005, there were 156 districts in 13
states affected in varying degree. Media reports say the Maoists have
spread to 182 districts in 15 states. The Planning Commission of India
has gone further and claimed that left wing extremism prevails in 233
districts in 20 states.
There are also disturbing reports about
arms and ammunitions of Pakistani and Chinese marking reaching the hands
of naxals and growing Maoists links with LTTE and NE insurgent groups.
Any links, however tenuous, between the Maoists and the terrorists can
pose a serious threat to India.
The Maoists expressing support to the
separatists of Jammu and Kashmir, their alleged links with the
insurgents of north east are now forming a cleft stretching north from
Andhra-Karnataka border. One arm extends through the well-recognised
red corridor via Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa to the North-East.
The other arm with suspected links with sleeper cells in Uttar Pradesh
and Uttarakhand reach up to Jammu and Kashmir.
The nation’s resolve to fight Maoists is being compromised by the Congress at the altar of short term political considerations.
After the Dantewada incident in which 78
security personnel were massacred by the Maoists, the then Home
Minister declared the policy of “Clear, Hold and Develop” the naxal
affected areas. Soon Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi and her senior
party functionaries including a General Secretary wrote articles
essentially sympathising with the naxal cause in various publications.
It resulted in stalling the proposal and demoralising the security
forces. After sometime the same Home Minister started giving excuse
that he has a “limited mandate”.
The Congress’ hypocrisy and double-speak
in this matter was further exposed when the NAC hand-picked several
over ground supporters of the underground Maoists as its members. In the
name of Human Rights activism, they were engaged in policy making for
the government and some even were made advisors to the Planning
Commission.
Till date, post May 2013, not a word has
been heard from these activists. Oblivious of all this, visiting
Raipur after the dreadful attack, the Congress President Smt Sonia
Gandhi, making a spectacle of her uncontrolled anger asked for
responsibility to be fixed!
The BJP has consistently taken a
nationalist stand blending the aspirations of the people of the affected
areas, particularly of the tribals. It was the BJP, during the NDA
rule under the leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, formed a
separate ministry of Tribal Affairs with a mandate to work for a
holistic development of the tribal areas and its people. In the past
nine years under Dr Raman Singh, the BJP led government in Chhattisgarh
has undertaken various developmental projects and enacted the
comprehensive Food Security Act, which is being implemented through an
efficiently run PDS.
Maoism is not a one-State issue. It is a
national issue and must be dealt with a multi-pronged approach where
safety and development should go hand in hand.
The BJP believes that Maoist have thrown
a challenge to the idea of India and must be dealt with by united
efforts of all concerned.
BJP demands that there has to be a
unified strategy to deal with the naxal menace with constant
consultation and cooperation of the Centre with the naxal affected
states. There has to be appropriate strengthening of security
apparatus, creation of Special Forces like ‘Grey Hound’ and a concerted
and time bound action plan in place. The intelligence apparatus and
acquiring sophisticated equipments. BJP underlines the importance of
constant monitoring of all these steps. BJP will support such a
comprehensive plane to combat Maoist menace. The BJP demands that the
Centre government should take immediate step to stop the flow of fund to
the Naxals.
Invoking Secularism to communalise discourse on Terror
Home Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde
has sought information about how many Muslims are languishing in jails
on terror charges. The Assembly in Kerala unanimously has resolved in
favour of the Coimbatore bomb blast accused Abdul Nasser Madani. The
blast killed 60 people while it targeted Shri L K Advani.
The people of India have not forgotten
Shri Salman Khurshid’s electoral gimmick when he claimed that Smt Sonia
Gandhi wept on hearing the death of terrorists in Batla House
encounter. Similarly, Shri Digvijay Singh’s visit to the homes of the
terror suspects in Azamgarh and questioning the sacrifice of martyr
Police Inspector Late Mohan Chand Sharma were desperate attempts to
communalise the entire narrative on terrorism.
This agenda is in the name of
secularism. While for some perpetrating terror may be driven by
religious fervour, our fight against terrorism is not a fight against
any religion. The former home minister Shri Chidambaram and the present
home minister Shri Shinde might try to communalise terrorism by cooking
up terms such as “Hindu terror” and ‘saffron terror’. These are a part
of the Congress’ vote bank and appeasement policy.
The BJP condemns these attempts to
communalise terrorism. It is in the national interest to treat terror
as terror and must be dealt with full resolve.
Barbarism perpetrated by Pakistan
The treatment offered to Sarabjit Singh,
an Indian national in the Pakistani prison stood in sharp contrast to
the way in which an elderly Pakistani prisoner Dr Chisthi was released
from an Indian gaol. Even if quid pro quo is too much to expect, a fair
treatment of captured soldiers is expected under the Geneva
Convention. Sarabjit Singh is not a first case. Earlier Chamail Singh
was also killed brutally in Kot Lakhpat jail in Pakistan.
Dismembered bodies of captured Indian
soldiers being returned to their families was adding insult to injury.
India remains with a sense of outrage that Pakistan lives in complete
denial about these facts even today. The Indian government has remained
inactive largely throughout these crises and spoke only at times. When
it did speak, it spoke as though it was completely helpless. This has
made the people angry with frustration.
Pakistan may have lost the list of the
1971 PoWs still languishing in Pakistani jails, may allow Hafeez Sayeed
and the Indian fugitive Dawood Ibrahim all comfort and freedom, but does
not want that India should demand its legitimate rights.
Repeated violations of cease-fire
continue at the border. Fidayeen attacks in Jammu and Kashmir are
increasing by the day. The twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad in February
followed by an attack on the CRPF camp in Bemina area of Srinagar in
March this year clearly show government’s claim of a returning normalcy
as hollow. There are new revelations in the courts in Pakistan about
the existence of huge quantum of secret funds ready to be spent for
pursuing the ‘unfinished agenda’ in Kashmir.
The government’s approach has been
completely laid back. In fact, even as the irony of barbarism in 21st
century could not settle down, our external affairs minister was hosting
his Pakistani counterpart who was on a private visit to India to a
lavish dinner. In 2009, the uncalled for statement issued at
Sharm-el-Sheikh, has in one stroke mitigated the good work done by Shri
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During the NDA, in January 2004, Shri Vajpayee had
ensured a written commitment from Islamabad that no Pakistani territory
will be allowed to be used for terrorism against India.
Congress-led UPA Government has failed
to get justice for the Mumbai attack. The handlers are scot free in
Pakistan. Headley is not questioned in India by our investigators. Yet
this government is ever ready for composite dialogue with Pakistan.
With a newly elected government in
Pakistan there is reason for cautious optimism for bettering ties,
without losing our national self-respect.
Italian Marines Mock our Justice System
Two poor Indian fishermen while fishing
were killed by Italian naval marines. When caught and made to face
trial in our courts, they went home to celebrate Christmas and then to
participate in the elections. They tried to negotiate to stay back
by-passing a trial by an Indian court. The Indian government has not
explained if they have agreed to any pre-set terms for their return to
face the trial. While the permission to go home was given by the court,
questions are raised as to how the Indian government could have an
understanding, if any, with the accused.
Indian Foreign Policy on a Drift
Due to a lack of political direction,
the Indian foreign policy is on a drift. It is unable to effectively
meet the challenges faced by the country. The relations with the SAARC
countries had never been as low as it is now. The goodwill that we had
in Maldives is all but lost. Nepal may have not drafted a Constitution
yet for itself, but it seems to want nothing from India. Sri Lanka has
not fulfilled its promise of devolution of power as yet.
There were more than 400 incursions by
China into our territory. The recent incursion in the Daulat Beg Oldie
sector in Ladakh was brazen. Dams on the Brahmaputra, building roads
and communication towers in areas in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK),
extraordinary claims in South China Sea affecting Indian commercial
operations in Vietnam are but a few threats from China not adequately
addressed by our External Affairs Ministry.
This government has also failed
miserably in enhancing India's maritime and energy security. The
importance of securing the Indian Ocean Region so that it becomes part
of our Region of Influence needs to be urgently recognised. The BJP is
committed to developing deeper relations with countries in the IOR so
that growing Chinese influence can be countered. We are determined to
carry forward Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Look East vision which the UPA has
abandoned.
The UPA government has also failed in
resolving the issuance of stapled visa to Indian Citizens by the Chinese
government and in solving the difficulties face by the people of
Arunachal due to the obduracy of the Bejing regime.
The BJP led NDA government was led by
the visionary leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We enjoyed the
confidence and cordiality of all our neighbours. International
relations improved in leaps and bounds. National dignity and
sovereignty were held high.
The BJP is committed to preserve this
national dignity. The BJP will not permit any compromise of India’s
security or strategic interests. If any such situation may arise, it
shall act as may be warranted in the national interest.
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