More austere than thou
In an article titled Austerity is a good idea. But the Congress is faking it in the latest issue of Organiser,R Balashankar writes: Austerity is a good idea in economics. But the Congress is faking it. The brazen ostentation of two Congress ministers in enjoying their first hundred days in five-star hotel suites has exposed the ruling partys soft underbelly. This was followed by another expose in The Indian Express that UPA ministers want Spanish tiles in office rooms and Italian porcelain in their toilets. The CPWD,the report said,was flooded with requests from ministers for urgent renovation of houses and offices. Perhaps,these ministers were under the impression that India has to play its role in European recovery.
He adds: Now,with great media glitz Sonia Gandhi travels economy class on a visit to Mumbai,and her son Rahul travels by chair car in a train journey to Ludhiana. The party wants its ministers and members of Parliament to follow suit to convey the message of low living and high ideals. RSS is perhaps the only mass movement in the country which has made simple living part of its training. If the Congress is serious about promoting austerity,it can ask its workers to take an internship with the Sangh. The uniqueness of the Sangh is that from its top leaders to ordinary workers,the same austere lifestyle is practised.
Face up to China
The editorial in the RSS mouthpieces latest issue,titled UPA silence on Chinese intrusions says: China is angry that these incidents (of incursions) are being reported in our media. Look at the list of LAC violations. In the past few weeks,the Chinese Red Army violated international borders in Arunachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand,Leh and Sikkim. The government has denied that two ITBP jawans were injured in firing by the Chinese soldiers in Sikkim,probably with the idea of underplaying tensions. This was the first violation with weapons by China since the India-China treaty in 1996 not to use weapons,whatever the provocation. It should also be remembered that China had summoned its officers on the Indian border to Beijing,probably for a briefing on irritating the Indian side. India has a 4056-km border with China. Last week,the Chinese men entered the Indian borders and wrote yellow river in Chinese on the boulders. Though it was reported in the Indian media,with photographs,Beijing blatantly denied it,and expressed anger over the Indian media. That China is trying to provoke and is hoping for some reaction from India is clear. But what is surprising is the meekness of Indias response. It was Army Chief Deepak Kapoor who first spoke about it openly,in a way breaking an unwritten protocol. On the western side too,Pakistani soldiers have been firing rockets into Indian territory. Several rocket pieces have been picked up by the defence personnel and the public. In this instance too,the government has chosen to keep mum.
It adds: It is not our case to indulge in war mongering. But the government should in no uncertain terms warn our neighbours off our borders. If there are consequences to their actions,they must be reminded that they would be faced by both sides. India will not be a silent victim,whatever be the might and buildup on the other side. When the NDA was in power,it made China finally accept officially that Sikkim is part of India. But under the UPA I and II defence and foreign affairs,the two sides of the same issue have been reduced to a department-level functioning. If China could summon our ambassador there,a lady,now our Foreign Secretary,in the middle of the night for a talk down,India could at least show some guts and summon the Chinese ambassador and give a talk down and let the world know about it.
