Fly on the Wall
A Terror state in Terror
The
killing of Amir Sarfaraz, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, in Lahore, at
his residence by two motorbike born gunmen, has created shock waves
in Pakistan. Sarfaraz was acquitted in the 2013 murder of India's
Sarabjit Singh who was a death-row prisoner, on charges of espionage.
Though Sarfaraz had been provided with a security cover after several
LeT operatives had been gunned down in Pakistan in the recent past.
Yet, he could not escape death forcing Pakistan's Interior Minister
to allege India's hidden hand. This is the 22nd killing of
terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and other such outfits who
did targeted killings in India and having a good time in Pakistan.
But not anymore.
The world woke up only when alleged Khalistani terrorist H S Nijjar was killed in Canada and the Canadian PM blamed India but gave no proof. Later, the US also joined the issue saying that India should cooperate in the on-going probe. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said such killings are contrary to India's policy. But it has been noticed that India's political response towards terrorists and those providing shelter had been very tough. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declared recently, “Hum Ghar Mein Ghus Kar Marenge” (We will kill rogue elements in their nests). He was responding to a question that terrorists kill and hide in Pakistan.
Goes without saying that PM Modi has toughened India policy in fight against terrorism and India's external espionage agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has been given unbridled power. The RAW, set up by Indira Gandhi in 1968 and played a key role in creating Bangladesh in 1971, was made defunct by her successor Morarji Desai in 1977. The RAW suffered again when I K Gujral became Prime Minister for a brief stint when he wound up its operations in Pakistan. The RAW is back in business in a big way and terrorists hiding in Pakistan are a worried lot. Modi may reap the harvest if the issue snowballs in the days to come during the elections.
Why ED, CBI silent on Vadra
Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was going against the Damaaji full gun blazing in a Haryana land deal case. Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, had been grilled by the ED several times and had even sought cancellation of anticipatory bail and sought his custody as he was not cooperating in the investigation. The ED had also claimed to have impeccable evidence of his ill-gotten property in London.
The allegations of land deals and other corruption cases were flying thick & high involving the Gandhi family in the 2014 election campaign that saw its continuation in 2019 polls as well. A prominent TV channel cited Vadra's links with the controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and how deals were discussed through emails. Five years down the line, there is no trace of cases against Robert Vadra. The BJP-led Haryana government closed the land deal case against Vadra. The London property also vanished into thin air. There is complete silence on corruption cases against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or the other members of the Gandhi family except for the National Herald case.
There are reports that the country's leading real estate group made massive donations through Electoral Bonds to the ruling dispensation during the period. Whether these donations were linked to the closure of cases or not could be anybody's guess. But a smiling Vadra is wanting a Lok Sabha seat as he had faced huge harassment for more than a decade. The Gandhis are maintaining a stony silence on the issue and the party leaders are scared to even talk on the issue in these tough times and maintaining a studied silence. The Amethi & RaeBareli seats are awaiting Congress candidates.
Rising Star Revanth Reddy
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy seems to have drawn a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book and is doggedly following him in at least one area i.e. an “Open Door Policy”. Though the Congress has a comfortable majority in the Assembly, Revanth Reddy wants every influential leader in other parties to join the Congress so that its Lok Sabha tally goes up. He doesn't hesitate to visit the houses of Congress' arch rivals and bring them back into the fold. He is gunning for the BRS and determined to ‘erase’ every mark of his predecessor, K Chandrashekar Rao. He is removing all contents uploaded during KCR’s tenure by the social media channels run by the state information and public relations department as well. However, he doesn't go out of his way to speak against the BJP's central leadership particularly PM Modi. Rather, he called Modi "Bade Bhai" (Elder Brother). Being an astute political leader who had been with the ABVP during his student days, he knows that Centre's help is necessary for the development of the state. He is also keeping the party high command happy and since assuming office, he has visited Delhi at least 18 times. He doesn't mince words and speaks fluent Hindi and establishes a connection with the audience. His rising graph has made many in the Congress a worried lot.
