archive: Congress always compromised on national security: BJP
Congress always compromised on national security: BJP
M. Venkaiah Naidu, General Secretary, BJP
BJP Website
July 26, 1999
Title: Congress always compromised on national security: BJP
Author: M. Venkaiah Naidu, General Secretary, BJP
Publication: BJP Website
Date: July 26, 1999
The Congress speaks too much. The Congress president and her
colleagues intentionally level charges that are calculated
to hurt national pride. But they conveniently forget the
Congress party's own terrible track record of managing
India's security interests when in power.
Ever since it came to power a year-and-a-half ago, the
Vajpayee Government has been trying to correct the mistakes,
including drastic cuts in defence expenditure, of previous
Congress and Congress-backed Governments. In fact, the last
Congress Government, acting under foreign pressure,
seriously compromised India's national security interests by
imposing severe cuts on defence expenditure.
As evidence of Congress negligence of the defence sector, we
cite from the "Memorandum of Economic Policies for 1992-93"
submitted by then Union Finance Minister Manmohan Singh on
behalf of the Congress Government to the Managing Director
of IMF in June 1992. It was an abject undertaking that the
Congress Government would starve the defence forces of India
of the funds they desperately needed. The memorandum said:
"Total defence spending is budgeted to rise by 7 per cent in
nominal terms, resulting in a further real decline to 2.5
per cent of GDP."
One of the effects of this cutback was the winding up of the
Military History Division that was charged with the
responsibility of preparing authentic accounts of wars
fought by India. So much for Congress concern to learn from
the past.
Indeed, starting from 1947, whenever the Congress was in
power, there was a distressing lack of political leadership
and direction in security related issues and operations.
This, in turn, cost the nation dearly - both in terms of
loss of territory and loss of lives. In an attempt to cover
up the loss of Aksai Chin because of weak political
leadership, Jawaharlal Nehru had said: "Not a blade of grass
grows in Aksai Chin." That scornful attitude towards
national security became, and continues to remain, the
Congress' policy.
Hence, the Congress President and her colleagues, even while
refusing to acknowledge India's military and diplomatic
triumph in the Kargil conflict, continue to ignore the loss
of national territory in 1947-48, the debacle and loss of
territory of 1962 and the disastrous IPKF misadventure of
1987-89.
* In 1947-48, India lost 1,103 soldiers; 3,152 were
wounded. In addition, by accepting the UN-dictated
ceasefire, Nehru prevented the Indian Army from
wresting back Indian territory from Pakistan, thus
creating what is now known as Pakistan Occupied
Kashmir.
* In 1962, India lost 1,521 soldiers; 548 were injured
and 1,729 listed as missing. Nehru's Government was
unable to conduct the war in a manner that would
prevent the loss of national territory or lives. The
people of Assam were left to fend for themselves when
the Army was directed to retreat south of the
Brahmaputra.
* In 1965, India lost 2,902 soldiers; 8,622 were wounded
and 361 listed as missing. Strategic gains secured by
the Indian forces were surrendered at Tashkent.
* In 1971, India lost 3,630 soldiers; 9,856 were wounded
and 212 listed as missing. India could have secured a
final solution to the Kashmir issue by driving a hard
bargain with Pakistan, but Mrs Indira Gandhi did not do
so while signing the Shimla Agreement.
* As for the disastrous IPKF mission to Sri Lanka,
India's former Foreign Secretary and High Commissioner
to Colombo, Shri J. N. Dixit, records in his book
Across Borders: "...Rajiv Gandhi insisted on the
(Indo-Sri Lankan) agreement despite his being advised
by the intelligence agencies and the armed forces not
to take on the responsibilities envisaged in the
agreement. Rajiv Gandhi should not have sent in the
Indian Peace-Keeping Forces to Sri Lanka... (The
disastrous failure) signified a major foreign policy
failure for India, which Rajiv Gandhi could have
avoided." The nation, once again, had to bear the cost
of this failure: 1,157 Indian soldiers were killed and
2,065 wounded.
* The loss of territory during Congress rule has been no
less tragic: 83,100 sq km to Pakistan in 1947-48, of
which 5,100 has been ceded to China; 38,000 sq km
(Aksai Chin) to China in 1962.
With a history of inflicting such enormous losses on the
nation, the Congress can only hide behind allegations and
untruths. In sharp contrast to the Congress' record is the
Vajpayee Government's conduct of the Kargil conflict,
securing a thumping military victory and an unprecedented
diplomatic triumph for India.
The people, we are confident, will not be dissuaded from the
truth by the Congress leadership's campaign of calumny that
hurts national pride and national interest.
Back
Top
|
