Saswat Panigrahi
It’s been three years. The scars of a 60-hour-long terror siege which scripted a gory tale in blood are very much visible.
The unprecedented terror strikes on multiple targets across India’s financial capital -- carried out by ten trained Pakistani jihadis, executed by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) inside Pakistan -- snuffed out the lives of at least 166 innocent people and wounded more than 300.
Mumbai Police, Rapid Action Force personnel, Marine Commandos and National Security Guards performed their duties with remarkable bravery and professionalism in their battle with the terrorists. Fifteen policemen and two NSG commandos sacrificed their lives in the counter-offensive.
On the third anniversary of Mumbai terror attacks, let’s pay tribute to the unsung heroes and the victims.
Zero progress by Pakistan
Dossiers after dossiers were sent to Pakistan. Date after date was set for action against the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks. But, three years after 26/11, there is zero progress by Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice.
However, has India failed to bend Pakistan internationally? If so, blame it on the UPA leadership. Don’t forget this government shocked the nation by delinking terrorism from Indo-Pak composite dialogue in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009. Early this month Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went on to describe his Pakistani counterpart “a man of peace”.
26/11 terrorists are having a field day
Three years after 26/11, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive is still facing a death sentence. The Bombay High Court upheld his death penalty, awarded by a special court in Mumbai. Last month, the Supreme Court stayed execution of the death sentence “to facilitate due process of law”.
The cost of keeping Kasab alive is as much as Rs 100 crore and counting.
India still awaits access to 26/11 plotter David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, who are in FBI custody.
Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the mastermind of 26/11 attacks continues his anti-India rhetoric from inside Pakistan. However, Pakistan maintains that there is not enough evidence against him.
How prepared we are to tackle terror?
26/11 had laid bare an abysmal intelligence and a spineless security, which helped the terror siege to succeed. Three years on, is India alert and prepared to thwart future terror attacks?
After 26/11 attacks, there were six major bomb blasts in different parts of the nation. Compensations for the victims were announced. Probes were ordered. Sketches of the suspects were prepared. However, the investigative agencies are struggling to find a “conclusive lead” in most of the cases.
Terrorists come at their will, kill innocent people and disappear into their cubby holes. But so “efficient” our intelligence agencies are that they do not even find clues of their whereabouts! And hunt for the suspects goes on....
The intelligence agencies utterly fail to read the changing modus operndi of the terrorists. They fail to gather inputs to thwart future terror strikes. They are unable to prevent one attack after another. But what are the reasons?
There are serious problems in India’s intelligence matrix. First, the multiplicity of its structure leads to confusion. Second, there is lack of co-ordination between agencies. Third, a sizable chunk of intelligence and security officials are not professionally trained and equipped to carry out their tasks. Fourth, there is a gross disconnect between the Centre and the states in tackling terror. Fifth, there are huge vacancies in security and intelligence agencies which have not been filled for years.
The apex organisation for India’s intelligence is the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which has a cascading bureaucratic structure. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), on the other hand, deals with India’s external intelligence and works under a “cloak of secrecy”.
Several states have set up Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to fight terror. All these intelligence agencies rarely share inputs, perhaps considering them as “highly secret”.
In the aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks, India has set up National Investigation Agency (NIA). This is supposed to be central agency to combat terrorism. But the agency is yet to build its capacity.
The proposed National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), which aims at facilitating information sharing by security agencies and law enforcement agencies to combat terror remains a work in progress.
The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) which is supposed to gather “highly specialised technical intelligence” is almost defunct.
The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTS) -- modelled on United States -- the “nodal agency” for counter terrorism with representation from all security and intelligence agencies is yet to take its shape.
In that case, undertrained and poorly equipped state police machineries are often being used to investigate and respond to terror attacks.
Time and again several ideas were floated, various recommendations were made to revamp India’s security architecture. But nothing has changed. India’s intelligence and security agencies remain in their moribund condition, giving an edge to the terrorists.
This is in sharp contrast to the countries like US which succeeded in uprooting terrorism by enhancing their already organised security system. Post 9/11, America has set up a separate ministry called Homeland Security and enacted USA PATRIOT Act, helping the country to intercept and obstruct further terror strikes. So did Europe and Israel. But we couldn’t.
Surge in home grown terrorism
This is not to dispute that terrorism in India is emanated from across the border. But the cross-border terror networks work in tandem with the local terror elements.
In the last one decade there was a surge in home grown terrorism. More interestingly, the local terror elements are getting political patronage.
Lack of political willpower
The Congress-led UPA government’s track record in tackling terror is abysmally poor. At present, India does not have any proper anti-terror law. It was the UPA government which repealed Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) in 2004 perhaps “to protect the rights of the terror accused”.
Remember, the government shamelessly went on to justify its move saying, “A tough law can’t prevent terror attacks”. But after 26/11, the government woke up from its slumber and amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, incorporating some provisions from the POTA. But the UPA so far has failed to explain to the nation why it is reluctant to bring a separate anti-terror law.
The immediate priorities
India is vulnerable to terror attacks. To fight terror, the country needs to strengthen its security and intelligence. The need of hour is to revamp border security, maritime security and aerial security. The nation needs a complete recast of its intelligence mechanism. There is a pressing need for stringent counter-terrorism policy and its implementation. In order to weed out terrorism from its roots, India needs to terrorise the terrorists and their sympathisers.
In the end, the one pertinent thought that resonates years after the 26/11 attacks is – Does human life count for even a little bit in India?
The government should act and that too fast.
-- -- Appeared in Zeenews.com
http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/uttarakhand/uttarakhand-will-cong-manage-to-dislodge-bjp_761883.html
http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/are-we-a-soft-state_743926.html
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Why Advani went wrong in Orissa?
Saswat Panigrahi
BJP veteran LK Advani’s silence on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik -- who is confronting a volley of corruption charges -- during the Orissa leg of Jan Chetna Yatra has virtually triggered a cadre revolt in state BJP.
While playing the issue of corruption to the public gallery, he spoke extensively on the successive scams -- Cash-for-vote scam, 2G spectrum scam and CWG scam -- under the UPA rule and highlighted its inability to bring back lakhs of crores of black money stashed in tax havens. However, he did not make any direct or indirect reference to the state of affairs in Orissa.
Responding to newspersons’ query about the series of scams during Naveen Patnaik’s regime, Advani said, "Since the yatra is a pan-India campaign, the overall focus should ideally be on the issue of corruption at the Centre. But, so far as the corruption in the states is concerned, we are concerned with the states we rule." He quickly added, “The state leadership would answer them.”
Answering a question on the “possibility” of a BJP-BJD alliance in future, the octogenarian leader said, “It is a speculative question...I am not ruling out anything, though at the moment the relations between the two have become tense."
Advani’s move was meticulously planned, carefully scripted and skilfully calculated. By maintaining a stoic silence on the scam-tainted Patnaik government, the BJP veteran has hurled broad hints for reviving ties with the BJD. This is not to dispute that during the BJP-BJD honeymoon days, Patnaik was Advani’s blue eyed boy and was enjoying a status which none of the other senior Orissa BJP leaders had.
Today, at a time when the BJP leader is apparently projecting himself as a prime ministerial candidate, he sees an opportunity in re-cultivating Patnaik and his BJD.
It’s been a couple of days since Advani made those comments. But the after effect is refusing to die down. The resentment in the state unit is evident. As Ashok Sahu, vice president of Orissa BJP bluntly puts, “It would have been better had Advaniji made comments on the Himalayan corruption of the Naveen Patnaik government”.
Advani’s move has put the state BJP in a tight spot. This has made the task of BJP leaders in Orissa difficult to face both the press and the public ahead of the crucial Panchayat polls. They are unable defend Advani’s political faux pas. I hope they are still busy in answering a circle of questions. The party cadres in Orissa are saddened and demoralised. It is now a challenge for the state leaders to convince irked party cadres. But has Advani gone wrong in wooing Naveen? Can the BJP afford to rejoin hands with the BJD? As a keen observer of Orissa politics, I must search the answers for future in a timeline from the past to the present. Just read on...
Those in knowhow of Orissa’s political history can recall how BJP’s strategist late Pramod Mahajan played a crucial role in the formation of BJD, before stitching its alliance with the saffron party. After Biju Patnaik’s demise in April 1997, a sympathy wave was blowing in the state in favour of the legendry leader. To cash in on that wave, Mahajan met Biju legacy -leaders. Some of them opined to merge the Orissa unit of the Janata Dal with the BJP. But it was Mahajan who proposed to float a party in the name of Biju babu and its alliance with BJP to bring a debacle for the Congress in Orissa, a suggestion the Janata leaders could not but accept. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was formed in December, 1997 and its alliance with the BJP was forged in February 1998.
It is said that all initial formative logistics for BJD were provided by the BJP. Biju babu’s son Naveen Patnaik, who since then was elected as a member of 11th Lok Sabha in a by-election following his father’s demise, emerged as the unanimous consensus to lead the party. Orissa voted en bloc for the BJP-BJD coalition as the state waited for a change because the Congress regime led by JB Patnaik was marked by mass corruption and which severely compromised state’s development. Riding an anti-Congress wave, BJP-BJD coalition swept State elections and Naveen became the chief minister.
However, after coming to power, the BJP started doing political piggy-riding and used Patnaik as a surrogate. In a decade long BJP-BJD regime, while the BJD was busy in enhancing its mass base, BJP did not bother to strengthen its grass roots. A sizable number of BJP leaders in Orissa distanced themselves from the organisation.
Ahead of the 2009 elections, when the BJP and BJD split over seat-sharing wrangles, a ‘cadre less’ Orissa BJP was walking on a lost path. The result was on expected lines. The BJD swept the state elections and the BJP bite the dust. Naveen Patnaik was elected as the Chief Minister for the third time in row.
The end of 2009 saw the beginning of bad days for Patnaik and his BJD government. Patnaik’s squeaky clean image took a beating ever since the mining scam broke.
As the Pandora's Box opened, it is learnt about how the Naveen government allowed mineral smugglers to plunder Orissa to the tune of Rs 3 lakh crores, giving birth to the biggest scam in independent India’s history. Then more skeletons tumbled out of the closet.
It was BJD government which illegally allotted as much as 6,000 acre of three-crop agricultural land -- including 1,300 acre belonging to Lord Jagannath Temple -- for the proposed dubious Vedanta university project in Puri-Konark marine drive. Orissa Lokpal indicted the Patnaik government for illegal land allotment. The biggest land grab scam in independent India was waiting to happen in Orissa. Thanks to Orissa High Court, the project was spiked.
Then came the nixing of Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri following NC Saxena report. The report indicted the BJD government again.
The saga of corruption in Naveen Patnaik government does not end there. Apart from mining scam and the two Vedanta scams, the BJD government is involved in dal scam, coal scam, rural job scam and the list goes on.
Patnaik government is highly unpopular for its mega industry plank. By allowing industries at the cost of livelihood of the people, the BJD government has made industries the beneficiary and the state a looser. Patnaik is being branded as anti-famer, anti-poor and ant-tribal.
Today, Patnaik and his BJD are facing credibility crisis. But, where does the BJP figure in Orissa’s political map? The saffron party is back in a revival mode. Being in opposition it was using the issue of corruption in the state to pin down the BJD. The party was cashing in on the issue to gauge public mood.
Despite that, by choosing to keep mum on the large scale corruption in Orissa, BJP veteran LK Advani appeared to be siding with Naveen. It is now a big challenge for the state BJP to explain people what exactly it is up to.
“With the polls not far away, the dependency is seemingly mutual. This time both the BJP and BJD need each other for their political success. However, while it would be a strategic alliance for the BJD, for BJP it would just be a suicidal move in Orissa,” said senior political commentator Pratap Mohanty.
This is not to dispute that Advani is undoubtedly the tallest leader in BJP’s ranks. But he is not the sole voice of the party. There are number of BJP leaders who are severely critical of his move. So let’s leave the rest to time.
BJP veteran LK Advani’s silence on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik -- who is confronting a volley of corruption charges -- during the Orissa leg of Jan Chetna Yatra has virtually triggered a cadre revolt in state BJP.
While playing the issue of corruption to the public gallery, he spoke extensively on the successive scams -- Cash-for-vote scam, 2G spectrum scam and CWG scam -- under the UPA rule and highlighted its inability to bring back lakhs of crores of black money stashed in tax havens. However, he did not make any direct or indirect reference to the state of affairs in Orissa.
Responding to newspersons’ query about the series of scams during Naveen Patnaik’s regime, Advani said, "Since the yatra is a pan-India campaign, the overall focus should ideally be on the issue of corruption at the Centre. But, so far as the corruption in the states is concerned, we are concerned with the states we rule." He quickly added, “The state leadership would answer them.”
Answering a question on the “possibility” of a BJP-BJD alliance in future, the octogenarian leader said, “It is a speculative question...I am not ruling out anything, though at the moment the relations between the two have become tense."
Advani’s move was meticulously planned, carefully scripted and skilfully calculated. By maintaining a stoic silence on the scam-tainted Patnaik government, the BJP veteran has hurled broad hints for reviving ties with the BJD. This is not to dispute that during the BJP-BJD honeymoon days, Patnaik was Advani’s blue eyed boy and was enjoying a status which none of the other senior Orissa BJP leaders had.
Today, at a time when the BJP leader is apparently projecting himself as a prime ministerial candidate, he sees an opportunity in re-cultivating Patnaik and his BJD.
It’s been a couple of days since Advani made those comments. But the after effect is refusing to die down. The resentment in the state unit is evident. As Ashok Sahu, vice president of Orissa BJP bluntly puts, “It would have been better had Advaniji made comments on the Himalayan corruption of the Naveen Patnaik government”.
Advani’s move has put the state BJP in a tight spot. This has made the task of BJP leaders in Orissa difficult to face both the press and the public ahead of the crucial Panchayat polls. They are unable defend Advani’s political faux pas. I hope they are still busy in answering a circle of questions. The party cadres in Orissa are saddened and demoralised. It is now a challenge for the state leaders to convince irked party cadres. But has Advani gone wrong in wooing Naveen? Can the BJP afford to rejoin hands with the BJD? As a keen observer of Orissa politics, I must search the answers for future in a timeline from the past to the present. Just read on...
Those in knowhow of Orissa’s political history can recall how BJP’s strategist late Pramod Mahajan played a crucial role in the formation of BJD, before stitching its alliance with the saffron party. After Biju Patnaik’s demise in April 1997, a sympathy wave was blowing in the state in favour of the legendry leader. To cash in on that wave, Mahajan met Biju legacy -leaders. Some of them opined to merge the Orissa unit of the Janata Dal with the BJP. But it was Mahajan who proposed to float a party in the name of Biju babu and its alliance with BJP to bring a debacle for the Congress in Orissa, a suggestion the Janata leaders could not but accept. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was formed in December, 1997 and its alliance with the BJP was forged in February 1998.
It is said that all initial formative logistics for BJD were provided by the BJP. Biju babu’s son Naveen Patnaik, who since then was elected as a member of 11th Lok Sabha in a by-election following his father’s demise, emerged as the unanimous consensus to lead the party. Orissa voted en bloc for the BJP-BJD coalition as the state waited for a change because the Congress regime led by JB Patnaik was marked by mass corruption and which severely compromised state’s development. Riding an anti-Congress wave, BJP-BJD coalition swept State elections and Naveen became the chief minister.
However, after coming to power, the BJP started doing political piggy-riding and used Patnaik as a surrogate. In a decade long BJP-BJD regime, while the BJD was busy in enhancing its mass base, BJP did not bother to strengthen its grass roots. A sizable number of BJP leaders in Orissa distanced themselves from the organisation.
Ahead of the 2009 elections, when the BJP and BJD split over seat-sharing wrangles, a ‘cadre less’ Orissa BJP was walking on a lost path. The result was on expected lines. The BJD swept the state elections and the BJP bite the dust. Naveen Patnaik was elected as the Chief Minister for the third time in row.
The end of 2009 saw the beginning of bad days for Patnaik and his BJD government. Patnaik’s squeaky clean image took a beating ever since the mining scam broke.
As the Pandora's Box opened, it is learnt about how the Naveen government allowed mineral smugglers to plunder Orissa to the tune of Rs 3 lakh crores, giving birth to the biggest scam in independent India’s history. Then more skeletons tumbled out of the closet.
It was BJD government which illegally allotted as much as 6,000 acre of three-crop agricultural land -- including 1,300 acre belonging to Lord Jagannath Temple -- for the proposed dubious Vedanta university project in Puri-Konark marine drive. Orissa Lokpal indicted the Patnaik government for illegal land allotment. The biggest land grab scam in independent India was waiting to happen in Orissa. Thanks to Orissa High Court, the project was spiked.
Then came the nixing of Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri following NC Saxena report. The report indicted the BJD government again.
The saga of corruption in Naveen Patnaik government does not end there. Apart from mining scam and the two Vedanta scams, the BJD government is involved in dal scam, coal scam, rural job scam and the list goes on.
Patnaik government is highly unpopular for its mega industry plank. By allowing industries at the cost of livelihood of the people, the BJD government has made industries the beneficiary and the state a looser. Patnaik is being branded as anti-famer, anti-poor and ant-tribal.
Today, Patnaik and his BJD are facing credibility crisis. But, where does the BJP figure in Orissa’s political map? The saffron party is back in a revival mode. Being in opposition it was using the issue of corruption in the state to pin down the BJD. The party was cashing in on the issue to gauge public mood.
Despite that, by choosing to keep mum on the large scale corruption in Orissa, BJP veteran LK Advani appeared to be siding with Naveen. It is now a big challenge for the state BJP to explain people what exactly it is up to.
“With the polls not far away, the dependency is seemingly mutual. This time both the BJP and BJD need each other for their political success. However, while it would be a strategic alliance for the BJD, for BJP it would just be a suicidal move in Orissa,” said senior political commentator Pratap Mohanty.
This is not to dispute that Advani is undoubtedly the tallest leader in BJP’s ranks. But he is not the sole voice of the party. There are number of BJP leaders who are severely critical of his move. So let’s leave the rest to time.
-- Published in Zeenews.com
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