Has India had enough, or is 2014 calling?

Patriotism is often the last refuge of politicians going to a poll battle. And a rivalry of whose patriotism is more strident was on display in both houses of Parliament on Friday. With the general election about a year way, the political voices want to match each other’s rhetoric, especially if it concerns a “wrongdoing” by Pakistan.

No doubt, therefore, both houses of Parliament adopted an identically worded resolution which carried the assent of politicians of almost all hues. Nobody wanted to take the unpopular line of dissent in a season when patriotic fervour was extremely high.

So, both houses condemned what the national assembly of Pakistan, a neighbouring country which is also going to polls, resolved a day earlier. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan “is and shall always be an integral part of India”, the counter-resolution adopted by the Indian Parliament averred.

This was more along anticipated lines because the BJP has been playing to the gallery and raising the pitch for quite some time now. After the decapitated body of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh was discovered near the Line of Control, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had demanded 10 such Pakistani heads.

Even BJP president Rajnath Singh was not way behind when it came to shrillness of the rhetoric used. He said recently that if voted to power the BJP-led government would double the size of the army and bring in rapid military modernisation. Experts laughed at the suggestion because not only is doubling the army impractical but also it is not the right military prescription.

The Congress has noted the stridency in BJP’s nationalist outbursts but it has quietly manoeuvred its political position to one of authority by going ahead with the execution of both Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru — two decisions which were hanging fire for a long time.

But in the electoral season it does not want to be left behind in any possible way.
So it joined the patriotic bandwagon with alacrity on Friday and had the vice president and the speaker move the resolutions demanding an end to cross-border terrorism. This follows several goof-ups by home minister Sushilkumar Shinde which has considerably embarrassed the government.

It was more than apparent that with elections round the corner, the Indo-Pak bonhomie is over. Now is the time for animosity expressed verbally at different forums, as and when occasion permits. The Congress is also likely to play ball and not fall behind. The party will also adopt a tough posture. For once, the BJP and the Congress share the same wavelength.

@DNA