Narendra Modi�s Pakistan detour and Indian politics

Kejriwal�s mistake was that, in trying to hit out at Jaitley, he overreached himself. His miscalculation was that if he threw enough mud at the wall some of it would stick

Had Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, not air-dashed to Pakistan the heat would have remained  on his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
 Modi’s sudden detour, and unscheduled stop, to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif, helped diffuse the BJP crisis at home. That it gave rise to another debate on how desirable was Modi’s impromptu visit to India’s hostile neighbor is another matter.
 Modi was on an official visit to Afghanistan; Pakistan was nowhere on his radar but he turned the tables, or so the BJP would wish to believe, on his opponents by landing in Pakistan. The ostensible reason: to personally wish Nawaz Sharif on his birthday and perhaps congratulate him on his granddaughter’s wedding for which Modi had been invited.
 If swords were out decrying Modi and his government’s flip flop on Pakistan, Modi got kudos from peaceniks on yet another step forward in building bridges.
 The euphoria may not be the same that it was when Modi took the unprecedented step of inviting SAARC heads of states for his swearing in as Prime Minister but it certainly caught the imagination of hundreds and thousands of Indians who would wish to see the bitter past buried.
 In any case, Modi is hailed as a leader who always has an ace up his sleeve. Given the Christmas symbolism, some likened him to good old Santa who has the innate ability to pull out a rabbit from his goodies bag. This time the rabbit was in the form of a Pakistan handshake.
 Drama apart, at a rational level, Modi left several questions unanswered on his Pakistan adventure, rather misadventure.  
 Fingers are being pointed at BJP’s blow hot blow cold Pakistan policy. From adopting an aggressive stance of no talks unless terror ends to dropping in, literally, to meet Sharif is a complete U-turn: unprecedented and to an extent uncalled for. The BJP has taken the lead in vilifying Pakistan; often asked traitors to go to Pakistan. Abandoning that and doing exactly the opposite i.e. flying to Lahore to meet Sharif is neither spontaneous nor a last minute decision, as the Modi fan club would like the world to believe. Pressure from Washington cannot be ruled out.
 Yet, the BJP is smug and is patting itself on what it is touting as “Modi’s feat”. It is also happy  imagining that this could be the turning point in Indo-Pak relationship. But those in the know dismiss the much hullaballoo as mere tokenism. The fact remains that not much will change on the ground.
 Indo-Pak relationship is not about India alone. Neither is it about either the conciliatory or contradictory steps India takes. It is more about Pakistan and its intent; it is about its being adamant in having its way all through. While its leaders can attempt to break bread with their Indian counterparts, firing on the border is unlikely to cease. The guns are ablaze and till that continues, friendship will remain a pipedream.
 Modi can land up in Pakistan and Nawaz Sharif can accord a warm welcome to him, but the ground reality is unlikely to change. As a temporary measure, the way ahead can be discussed on television channels but that will be only till another set of body bags arrive. Therefore Pakistan must commit to ending its double speak, before India and its flamboyant Prime Minister can claim any headway or success in Indo Pak relationship.
 Irrespective, Modi’s air dashing to Lahore did one thing: it took the heat off domestic politics that was badly in need of a focus shift. In the eye of a storm was Modi’s blue-eyed boy Arun Jaitley. He was  embroiled in a cricket controversy.
There were allegations of wrong doing in the Delhi unit of the Cricket Association, more popular as DDCA.
The muck had been raked up nearly a decade ago with party MP Kirti Azad, also a former cricketer, pointing a finger at the wrongdoings in the association. Jaitley was then in-charge.  Azad claims that he had brought the issues to Jaitley’s notice but he turned a blind eye. Azad also said that he had written several letters to Jaitley on the issue when Jaitley headed the cricket body but “nothing happened”.
 Azad’s was a lone voice in the wilderness till Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gave it strength.
 Following a CBI raid in his office last month, Kejriwal cried foul. Naming Jaitley, Kejriwal alleged that the raid was aimed at digging out a DDCA file that had damning evidence against Jaitley.
 An eminent lawyer himself, Jaitley lost no time. He sued Kejriwal for defamation. That Ram Jethmalani, another lawyer of repute and a known Jaitley baiter, agreed to represent Kejriwal in the ensuing court battle, queered the pitch. It was getting murkier by the minute. Jaitley’s detractors chuckled.  This, they concluded, was the opportunity that would finally nail the till now invincible Jaitley.
 But they were clearly off the mark. Wishful thinking apart, they had not bargained for the fall out of the controversy. Even Jaitley’s bitterest critics would not be able to punch a hole in his credibility and integrity. Those who know him will swear by it and those who don’t will vouch that Jaitley and scandals do not go
together.
 In any case, as a lawyer and a very successful one at that, Jaitley has earned enough money and that too honestly. Therefore making a quick buck on the side is against his grain and upbringing. Yes politics could have taken a toll like it does on most well bred people but it cannot corrupt the likes of Jaitley or his value system. He does not belong to that breed of politicians who would use politics to fill his own coffers.
 The worst that could be said about him is that he, wittingly or unwittingly, gave a go-by to the wrong doings. This does not amount to condoning the goings on. At best it could amount to accepting that in politics flexibility is the key. Jaitley could be, at best, accused of this or accepting things that he was unable to change. That can be as far as his guilt, if at all it is considered one, can go.
 Kejriwal’s mistake was that, in trying to hit out at Jaitley, he overreached himself. His miscalculation was that if he threw enough mud at the wall some of it would stick. Nothing happened. If there was any mud that stuck, it did on Kejriwal, jeopardizing whatever little credibility he has. For in the battle between Kejriwal and Jaitley, the latter emerged unscathed.
 Modi’s Pakistan sojourn helped bury the controversy sooner than later but even if that had not happened Jaitley was nowhere being run out.
 
 The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

 

Narendra Modi�s Pakistan detour and Indian politics

Kejriwal�s mistake was that, in trying to hit out at Jaitley, he overreached himself. His miscalculation was that if he threw enough mud at the wall some of it would stick

Had Narendra Modi, Indias prime minister, not air-dashed to Pakistan the heat would have remained on his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Modis sudden detour, and unscheduled stop, to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif, helped diffuse the BJP crisis at home. That it gave rise to another debate on how desirable was Modis impromptu visit to Indias hostile neighbor is another matter. Modi was on an official visit to Afghanistan; Pakistan was nowhere on his radar but he turned the tables, or so the BJP would wish to believe, on his opponents by landing in Pakistan. The ostensible reason: to personally wish Nawaz Sharif on his birthday and perhaps congratulate him on his granddaughters wedding for which Modi had been invited. If swords were out decrying Modi and his governments flip flop on Pakistan, Modi got kudos from peaceniks on yet another step forward in building bridges. The euphoria may not be the same that it was when Modi took the unprecedented step of inviting SAARC heads of states for his swearing in as Prime Minister but it certainly caught the imagination of hundreds and thousands of Indians who would wish to see the bitter past buried. In any case, Modi is hailed as a leader who always has an ace up his sleeve. Given the Christmas symbolism, some likened him to good old Santa who has the innate ability to pull out a rabbit from his goodies bag. This time the rabbit was in the form of a Pakistan handshake. Drama apart, at a rational level, Modi left several questions unanswered on his Pakistan adventure, rather misadventure. Fingers are being pointed at BJPs blow hot blow cold Pakistan policy. From adopting an aggressive stance of no talks unless terror ends to dropping in, literally, to meet Sharif is a complete U-turn: unprecedented and to an extent uncalled for. The BJP has taken the lead in vilifying Pakistan; often asked traitors to go to Pakistan. Abandoning that and doing exactly the opposite i.e. flying to Lahore to meet Sharif is neither spontaneous nor a last minute decision, as the Modi fan club would like the world to believe. Pressure from Washington cannot be ruled out. Yet, the BJP is smug and is patting itself on what it is touting as Modis feat. It is also happy imagining that this could be the turning point in Indo-Pak relationship. But those in the know dismiss the much hullaballoo as mere tokenism. The fact remains that not much will change on the ground. Indo-Pak relationship is not about India alone. Neither is it about either the conciliatory or contradictory steps India takes. It is more about Pakistan and its intent; it is about its being adamant in having its way all through. While its leaders can attempt to break bread with their Indian counterparts, firing on the border is unlikely to cease. The guns are ablaze and till that continues, friendship will remain a pipedream. Modi can land up in Pakistan and Nawaz Sharif can accord a warm welcome to him, but the ground reality is unlikely to change. As a temporary measure, the way ahead can be discussed on television channels but that will be only till another set of body bags arrive. Therefore Pakistan must commit to ending its double speak, before India and its flamboyant Prime Minister can claim any headway or success in Indo Pak relationship. Irrespective, Modis air dashing to Lahore did one thing: it took the heat off domestic politics that was badly in need of a focus shift. In the eye of a storm was Modis blue-eyed boy Arun Jaitley. He was embroiled in a cricket controversy. There were allegations of wrong doing in the Delhi unit of the Cricket Association, more popular as DDCA. The muck had been raked up nearly a decade ago with party MP Kirti Azad, also a former cricketer, pointing a finger at the wrongdoings in the association. Jaitley was then in-charge. Azad claims that he had brought the issues to Jaitleys notice but he turned a blind eye. Azad also said that he had written several letters to Jaitley on the issue when Jaitley headed the cricket body but nothing happened. Azads was a lone voice in the wilderness till Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gave it strength. Following a CBI raid in his office last month, Kejriwal cried foul. Naming Jaitley, Kejriwal alleged that the raid was aimed at digging out a DDCA file that had damning evidence against Jaitley. An eminent lawyer himself, Jaitley lost no time. He sued Kejriwal for defamation. That Ram Jethmalani, another lawyer of repute and a known Jaitley baiter, agreed to represent Kejriwal in the ensuing court battle, queered the pitch. It was getting murkier by the minute. Jaitleys detractors chuckled. This, they concluded, was the opportunity that would finally nail the till now invincible Jaitley. But they were clearly off the mark. Wishful thinking apart, they had not bargained for the fall out of the controversy. Even Jaitleys bitterest critics would not be able to punch a hole in his credibility and integrity. Those who know him will swear by it and those who dont will vouch that Jaitley and scandals do not go together. In any case, as a lawyer and a very successful one at that, Jaitley has earned enough money and that too honestly. Therefore making a quick buck on the side is against his grain and upbringing. Yes politics could have taken a toll like it does on most well bred people but it cannot corrupt the likes of Jaitley or his value system. He does not belong to that breed of politicians who would use politics to fill his own coffers. The worst that could be said about him is that he, wittingly or unwittingly, gave a go-by to the wrong doings. This does not amount to condoning the goings on. At best it could amount to accepting that in politics flexibility is the key. Jaitley could be, at best, accused of this or accepting things that he was unable to change. That can be as far as his guilt, if at all it is considered one, can go. Kejriwals mistake was that, in trying to hit out at Jaitley, he overreached himself. His miscalculation was that if he threw enough mud at the wall some of it would stick. Nothing happened. If there was any mud that stuck, it did on Kejriwal, jeopardizing whatever little credibility he has. For in the battle between Kejriwal and Jaitley, the latter emerged unscathed. Modis Pakistan sojourn helped bury the controversy sooner than later but even if that had not happened Jaitley was nowhere being run out. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])