Opinion View from the right: Budget Warning
On this principle, the editorial faults the IB report for castigating NGOs acting against global seed companies in the country.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning about a “bitter pill” to get the economy running, the Sangh Parivar has begun preparing its loyalists to reconcile with the bitter pills for achhe din in the future. The Organiser has carried a cover story that underlines “hard decisions” and “high hopes” are two faces of the same coin. “The coin for Union Budget 2014-15 has been tossed up and everybody is holding their breath,” declares the cover story, underlining that the budget is going to be “a testing point for the government”.
Bagged NGOs
The Sangh Parivar, which brands itself as a socio-cultural non-government organisation, appears to be treading a cautious line over the IB report against NGOs. A cover story and editorial in Panchjanya support the IB report for exposing the alleged undue influence of NGOs with foreign funding in shaping policy, but cautions against putting a spanner in the works of those NGOs that “love” the country.
On this principle, the editorial faults the IB report for castigating NGOs acting against global seed companies in the country. “Equating those who support swadeshi movements for poison-free farming… and stand up against evil companies like Monsanto with ‘NGO agents’ peddling foreign influence is injustice,” declares the editorial.
“That a report dealing with national concerns confines itself to the growth index and does not even mention those who have acted against social and cultural interests is alarming,” goes the editorial in Panchjanya, which faults the IB for not exposing foreign funding to Arvind Kejriwal’s NGO and those who allegedly played a divisive role in the name of “Gujarat and human rights”.
Punching Panchsheel
Notwithstanding Vice President Hamid Ansari’s visit to Beijing, to participate in celebrations marking 60 years of the Panchsheel principles, the Sangh Parivar wants the BJP government to bury this Nehruvian legacy for good.
“With the decisive change of guard at the Centre, it is expected that India will no longer carry the baggage of Panchsheel,” suggests an Organiser editorial.
The editorial castigates the Panchsheel agreement with China as Nehru’s personal agenda against Indian sovereignty. “The only beneficiary of the so-called ‘Panchsheel’ was Nehru who could project himself as a statesman on the global stage. The victim was India’s sovereignty,” the editorial says, reminding readers how that agreement “recognised” Chinese claims over Tibet and provided China the opportunity to exert influence in South Asia subsequently.
The editorial asks the Modi government to pursue a muscular foreign policy against neighbours like China: “A strong and decisive interaction with all neighbours and great powers on our own terms needs to be established…”
Compiled by Ravish Tiwari
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