THE efforts of some elements to distort reality and present an altogether negative picture of the successful diplomacy India made possible getting terror mastermind Masood Azhar proscribed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) need to be condemned not just as politically motivated but also as ugly and reprehensible in every possible manner. It is obvious that these elements in India are all the time willing to suspect the integrity of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s leadership and believe the ugly anti-India propaganda Pakistan often unleashes. As part of this dirty political approach, these elements believed that China agreed to withdraw its “technical hold” on the proscription resolution in the UNSC because India allowed to let go references to Pulwama terror strike or ongoing terrorist activity in Kashmir. It is against this backdrop that the assertion of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) assumes importance that India never negotiates or compromises in matters of national security.
What shocks common people is the temerity with which some political elements keep doubting whatever the Modi Government has been doing in best national interest. It is perfectly all right for Opposition parties to present a counter-argument on current issues as such an activity is a legitimate part of democracy. Yet, counter-argument can never mean spreading falsehood and propagate anti-India ideas. That was why Union Ministers Mr. Arun Jaitley and Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman expressed their consternation that the Opposition parties were not celebrating the diplomatic success India achieved by getting Masood Azhar proscribed. This is a righteous indignation that is felt not only by the people in the Government but also by common people.
It is obvious that the chief cause of the Opposition’s discomfiture is the current election for the next Lok Sabha. Their sole idea is to have Mr. Modi defeated somehow. Hence all the efforts to foist falsehood on the nation. Hence the efforts to misinterpret whatever the Modi Government does. Hence the ugly and insane efforts to paint the Prime Minister as “Chor” and also an anti-national person who keeps compromising with national interest every now and then.
What shocks most is the shamelessness with which falsehood is being dished out from the Opposition camp. Steeped in that propagandist and political mood, the Opposition parties believe that the surgical strikes never took place, that India allowed to drop Pulwama reference to ensure Masood Azhar’s proscription, that the Government conducted the anti-satellite missile test with a political purpose ...! All this canard is because the sole aim of the Opposition is to ensure that Mr. Modi does not get re-elected. And that Mr. Modi is still unfazed, angers the Opposition all the more. So, more lies, more nonsense.
It may be futile to urge the Opposition to stop this nonsense. Yet, we must appeal to their good sense. We must ask them to stop this distortion of reality. They must realise that democratic discourse does not mean distortion of facts. It does mean offering a counter view, an alternate interpretation. But all that does not include foisting falsehood on the nation.
The biggest problem with such a deliberate distortion is that it embitters minds forever since it is based on untruth. The nation does not want this. For, democracy is a happy system basically, and not cantankerous as we experience today. Unfortunately, our political community has failed massively to attain, maintain and retain a harmonious feeling through a respectful discourse on national interest. And because we have allowed our discourse to get distorted, we have lost out on the harmony part of democracy as a system by the people, of the people and for the people. Hence our earnest appeal: Please stop this distortion. Or else, people will teach you a lesson you would want to forget.