By Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi
Is India’s political class failing the people in firming up a national consensus on the issue of the West Asia war and its impact on the country? The question has come up after open divergences between the government and the opposition.
The opposition parties have been criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for its “silence” on the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and on attacks on Iran in the initial days of West Asia war. It was later that India condemned the attacks on “critical infrastructure” but framed it in a manner that could apply equally to US-Israeli strikes on Iran and to Iranian-linked attacks on energy assets in other Gulf countries.
Modi and BJP have hit back at the opposition, particularly Congress, accusing it of making “irresponsible” statements.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dismissed the claim that India has maintained silence over the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and had delayed offering condolences. He said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signed the condolence book the day it was opened. He also refuted suggestions that the decision not to condemn the attack on Iran initially has damaged ties with the country.
India, he said, had to take into account the “outrage” in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the damage caused by Iranian drones and missiles. Over eight million Indians work in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The bickering between the government and the opposition also came out in the open at an all-party meeting convened by the government to try and firm up a national consensus on how to deal with the impact of the West Asia war on India.
After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kirren Rijiju claimed that at the end of the day the opposition decided to back whatever measures the government takes to cope with fall-outs of the conflict. But that did little to hide the differences between the two sides.
The war of words between the government and the opposition continued unabated even after the all-party meet, prompting the prime minister slamming on two separate occasions Congress for making “the kind of statements on this sensitive issue to gain political advantage” and termed them “dangerous”. He also warned the people against “self-serving politics” on the issue.
A debate in parliament on the subject is likely in the coming days. Will the political parties across the aisle show sincerity and urgency to come to a consensus and chart a path on how India can navigate what is undoubtedly a mammoth crisis whose course is highly unpredictable?
