Beyond the P-word

During a recent visit organised by the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum, a delegation of Indian MPs left an impressive impact on the US administr...

During a recent visit organised by the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum, a delegation of Indian MPs left an impressive impact on the US administration. They refused to get Pakistan-centric and instead focused on economic and trade partnership with the US. ‘‘For God’s sake,’’ our MPs told the US officials, ‘‘please don’t consider us at par with Pakistan. If you insist on an Asian perspective, perhaps China is a practical point of reference to discuss India’s trade potential. But surely not Pakistan.’’

As the convener of the Forum, I was pleased with the sincerity and enterprise of the accompanying MPs like B J Panda, Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasad, Milind Deora, Manvendra Singh and Vijay Mallya. Even when some US official raised certain Pakistan-related issues, the delegation avoided diluting the agenda and drove home the point that such digression was not welcome in a bilateral discussion. The point was well taken by the Americans. The general thrust of the tour was on economy and the FICCI must be thanked for making possible certain interfaces. Outsourcing was discussed too. Positioning India vis-à-vis China as a US trade partner was another issue debated thread bare. Our MPs made it clear that the US couldn’t make India pay the price of being a democracy. On the one hand, US encouraged democratic spirit and values, the MPs pointed out, and on the other, blamed the inadequate FDI flow on the sluggishness of the system. While it was easier for a totalitarian China, US officials were told, to get things done unilaterally, policy decisions must await consensus in a democratic India. But the Americans said, ‘‘The world won’t wait for you,’’ they told our MPs.

The numbers game

Trust vested political interests to stoop to any level, the controversy over the Census report being a case in point. The Parivar politicians have twisted a minor statistical confusion to further their sectarian agenda and, in the process, diverted the attention from what is perhaps the single biggest challenge facing the nation today. Population control should have topped our national agenda. Instead, we have so-called politicians and community leaders trying to fix the blame on others.

In a crowded press conference, the Census officials explained the figures in terms of Kashmir’s exclusion from the previous Census. Unfortunately, a large section of the media missed the statistical nuance. When the confusion was set right the next day, the Sangh Parivar had already highjacked the issue, drawing ominous conclusions about an imaginary Muslim population bomb. In the six years of NDA rule at the Centre, not a single step was taken to control population growth. When I initiated a private member Bill during the BJP tenure, providing incentives and disincentives for effective curtailment of population growth, they didn’t even bother to read it. Equally tragic is the resistance among certain Muslim clerics to Maulana Kalbe Sadiq’s candid acceptance of the community’s need for family planning. These clerics should just look across at Pakistan, where a strict family planning programme is in operation. In fact, Musharraf went so far as to quote verses from the Holy Koran to promote the cause.

Where’s the taint?

While the NDA is still crying hoarse over the ‘‘tainted’’ ministers issue, it is difficult to understand just exactly which minister they are targetting. The case against Laloo Prasad Yadav awaits court verdict, pending which it is unfair to declare him tainted. As for Prem Gupta, the FERA charges against him could not be substantiated, and so have been withdrawn. The cases against Chandra Shekhar Rao have also been withdrawn. Another minister, J P Yadav, as far as I know, does not have any case registered against him. The same goes for M A Fatmi. Taslimuddin’s case still awaits verdict before a court of law.

The writer is a Congress MP. He can be contacted at shuklarajeevgmail.com