Shiban Khaibri

“One aught never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it,

if you do that, you will double the danger , if you meet it promptly and without flinching , you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never ……” (Winston Churchill)

Not an ordinary person but an MP, a former Chief Minister of a state known for its rich culture , traditions and patriotism besides having industrious people – Punjab- advocates in the Parliament for the release of a person from detention who is alleged to be openly harbouring violence , separatism and secessionism.

The concerned MP Charanjit Singh Channi very strongly pleaded his case citing reasons and putting forth unconvincing justifications which not only brings bad name to his Party – the Congress Party – but raises questions about the propriety of an MP to raise such type of controversial issues, directly connected with the sovereignty and security of the country, on the floor of the august House.

However, liberty and natural justice are every Indian’s right and there are ample legal remedies available to fight for the same in cases where these are found to be unjustifiably denied or restrained .

On the other hand, the paradox all about such a repeatedly peddled allegation that “the present government was curbing free speech” is that Channi only a few weeks ago, termed one of the Pakistan sponsored terror attacks in Jammu region in early May this year, as “nothing but BJP’s stunt to win elections”.

The Congress leader did not stop just at that but said further, “These are all stunts and not terrorist attacks , nothing but BJP’s pre-poll stunts, there is no truth in it , BJP is playing with people’s lives and bodies”. Unbelievable , such a narrative.

The Congress leader further believed that “Whenever elections come, such stunts are played, similar attacks happened during the last general elections too.” While surprisingly, it is brazenly groaned and whined that “free speech is curbed”, at the same time , decidedly, it cannot explicitly be explained as to what more was needed to be publicly said to claim that free speech was not curbed and could go to any extent.

Well, that is for the people of this country to ponder upon and decide about the said manufactured issue but all those “lovers of constitution ” who were evocatively waving the copies of the constitution and conspicuously claiming that they alone obeyed and respected it, have not spoken a word over a senior Congress leader so vehemently supporting and pleading the case of the detained person , now elected as an MP. Perhaps, in their scheme of things, it all was tantamount to “saving and protecting ” the constitution.

When someone or someones amidst us infelicitously interprets the terror attacks in totally fictional and motivated manner , it is not only the most unfortunate and regrettable thing for this partitioned country but means nothing less than rubbing the salt into the wounds of the countless victims of Pakistan sponsored terrorism for the last more than five decades in this country.

It also means giving a clean chit to and exonerating the sworn enemy of this country of its sponsored unabated treacherous acts of sending armed , indoctrinated and well trained infiltrators into this country for creating mayhem — attacking, ambushing and spilling blood – of innocent Indians strictly as per its state policy right from its birth .

Our endurance seems to be infinite not only for the enemy but, perhaps, also for voices from within adopting a dubious role of not even slightly charging the enemy but making it all a ”creation” of an election stunt by the ruling dispensation. Absolutely, shocking , this all.

Similarly, it is to be seen to be noted too that while “strongly” condemning terror attacks recently in Jammu and Kashmir , top Congress leadership has not been found directly naming and exposing Pakistan for such repeated cowardly attacks but leaves no occasion of strongly criticising PM Modi by claiming , “Narendra Modi government is a disaster for security situation in Jammu and Kashmir”.

Why not, we know how Congress leadership especially from 2004 to 2014 , very aptly handled security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and how ”fantastically well” the normal life was going on there including trade and commerce, schools, colleges, offices functioning normally and so on.

Normal political activities, elections to Panchayats, District Development Councils etc, too, perhaps happened only under Congress Government. Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra saw and openly admitted Tirangaas everywhere in Kashmir unlike during Congress regime and how freely and without any let or hindrance, even played with his sister Priyanka Vadra snow ball “fight” in Srinagar reminiscent of how Narendra Modi was not a disaster for security situation but a harbinger and architect of peace and near normalcy – at least as much as the people in Kashmir never witnessed for more than three decades .

Peddling such a falsehood , perhaps, in their scheme of things amounted to saving and protecting the constitution. Needless to add, the indigenous inhabitants of Kashmir – the Kashmiri Pandits- continue to remain in the state of internally displaced Indians, if not strictly in exile and most agreeably, till the last one hounded out and persecuted got rehabilitated and settled gracefully back in Kashmir, it will not be an exaggeration that such normalcy was absolutely qualified and not absolute but the allegations and the stand of Congress are totally far from realities .

Historically speaking, Congress has to own the responsibility of having made a mess of Kashmir all through right from the Qabayli (read Pakistani) Kashmir invasion in 1947 .

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, presently in judicial custody facing various charges involving pecuniary matters, runs the Government from jail , unheard of during 75 years in this country .

How can a detainee run the administration and take critical and sensitive decisions needed for good governance from a jail, is never talked about , even remotely by all those who swear to be ”the only savers and protectors” of our constitution.

Had it been the case of a BJP Chief Minister , hell would have broken loose and just let us refresh our memories of how L .K. Advani tendered his resignation just at the whiff of an allegation of his involvement in Hawala scam in 1996 pledging to return to politics only when proved innocent and he was proved so resulting in his re-election to the Parliament in 1998- can , now , be pooh poohed in comparison

Even Laloo Prasad, CM Soren, Jai Lalitha etc tendered their resignations before walking into the judicial custody but Kejriwal is found to be so much indispensible and absolutely vital with no able substitute that only in the interests of “serving ” the people , he has to run the administration of Delhi even from the jail. And this is how “INDI alliance Constitution Lovers Club” is not only silent but justifies such a stand of Kejriwal and thus the constitution is ”saved ”.

Not only this, the recent heart wrenching death of three students in a Delhi coaching centre, while making bare all hollow claims of the AAP Government and all over it, a full fledged blame game , impudently set in motion is somehow tried to be parked at the gates of the Lieutenant Governor and the Central Government while only a few days ago, the AAP Mayor had promised Delhi residents of “enjoying the Monsoon rains ” this time as all necessary arrangements had been made.

A discussion in the Parliament saw speakers from the INDI alliance not speaking a word against AAP Government or its CM for its total failure in at least not allowing such coaching centres to be run from basements, actually meant for parking of vehicles. Such a “rightful” stand, of not even naming AAP, perhaps, was taken all in the interests of ”saving” the constitution.

Mamta Bannerji, Chief Minister West Bengal recently openly said, ” If anyone from Bangladesh knocks at our door, we will welcome and provide them shelter in India.” This, she said as an unsolicited response to an internal matter of a free, independent, sovereign country- Bangladesh – where large scale protests were witnessed.

Not a single leader from the ”INDI alliance Constitution Lovers Club” questioned Mamta as to on what basis was the critical announcement made by her. Bengal is not anyone’s fiefdom to facilitate rather promote unabated illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals.

The state is already flooded with such illegal immigrants followed by thousands of Rohingya Muslims . It is a misconception, rather knowingly peddled as genuine, that India had obligations towards refugees under 1951 UN Refugee convention as India has refused to sign or be a part of the convention even of 1967 Protocol .

India has neither signed, nor ratified and never supported the International Convention. On the other hand, we are up to the brim with Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingya entrants and a national policy to identify and deport these crores of illegal immigrants , is needed to be devised.

Who is bothered over that we have reportedly surpassed China in population growth and, therefore, have become the most populous country on earth? We have to feel concerned and anguished as well, that as against a population of 32 crores in 1948 , we are presently over 140 crore people .

Demographic equations are, as a result, getting precariously tilted in unfavourable proportions . Much hyped diversity is fraught with getting plunged into jeopardy if this unwanted and uncalled for trend to keep illegal immigrants finding their haven in this country, is not stopped.

Self styled “Savers” of the constitution have not only to wave and display the copies of our constitution to score political points but follow its guidelines and provisions scrupulously.

That warrants to be fair and honest to raise voice and point fingers towards anyone in the political system doing a wrong knowingly or unknowingly so that the overall political system of our country shows some changes for the better . That could , as a natural corollary, be tantamount to lending a helping hand to strengthen our democracy.