Stop scoring brownie points on national security
There are certain issues over which politics should not be played, and national security is one of them. Unfortunately, the Congress and many others in the opposition have been using the mysterious Pakistani boat matter to score political points over the Union Government.
Their latest effort is to use a stray and irresponsible remark by a Coast Guard officer to pin down the Narendra Modi regime on the matter. Coast Guard DIG BK loshali recently boasted that he had ordered to “blow the (Pakistani) boat off”.
The fact that the statement was in sharp contradiction to the Government's stand that the crew of the Pakistani vessel had self-destructed the boat after the Coast Guard had cornered them on December 31, 2014, gave the critics a tool to question the Government's version. It did not matter to them that Mr loshali was not even part of the chain of command to issue such orders — and, therefore, he simply could not have given the directive.
He handles administrative matters in the organisation. And, even if he had been authorised to order the ‘blowing off', surely he or even the chief of the Coast Guard could not have taken the step without clear instructions from the very top of the ruling political establishment. Mr loshali has clearly indulged in false bravado in a bid to corner for himself glory that he did not personally deserve. It is a serious breach of discipline, and he should expect firm action from the Ministry of Defence.
He has already been served a show-cause notice and, going by the hints from Minister for Defence Manohar Parrikar, can face stringent punishment. But what is more alarming is that the errant officer's statement has been latched on to by Pakistan, which has slammed India for its “devious” ways. Islamabad has been no doubt heartened by the sharp criticism the Indian Government has faced from its political rivals.
To that extent, the Congress and other critics have played into Pakistan's hands. It is for them to decide whether they want to take an irresponsible officer's empty boast at face value or trust the Defence Ministry and the Indian Navy (which was kept in the loop all along as a nodal agency for maritime security) on issues of national interest. The Opposition has, and will have, many issues on which to question the Government. It must not exploit matters of national security for political gains.
Nevertheless, it needs to be admitted that the Defence Ministry could have been more forthcoming in educating the people about the incident. Had it been so, a great deal of the speculation, including in sections of the media, would have been avoided. Hours after the incident came to light, Mr Parrikar had promised to release fresh information on the incident.
That never happened. The Defence Minister has taken the stand that he cannot bring sensitive information in the public domain since it could compromise national security and the safety of informants. While nobody can demand sensitive material to be made public, at least the relevant portions that can stop tongues from wagging can surely be made known.
After Mr loshali's outburst, the Defence Minister has yet again promised to release evidence to vindicate the Government's stand. It is to be hoped that this is done at the earliest. Our brave personnel who guard India's maritime borders and the Navy do not deserve the controversy they are embroiled in.