By Sushil Kutty
The United States announces a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired, aided or abetted the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and Prime Minister Narendra Modi says at an election rally in Rajasthan four and a half years into his rule, six months to the next general elections, that his government will “not rest” till the perpetrators of 26/11 are brought to book.
And his government, so as to not lose Sikh votes, is not beyond shaking hands with 26/11 culprit Pakistan on the very anniversary of 26/11. Now, you know, who is more serious about 26/11, who cares more – United States which lost six of its citizens in the Mumbai attacks, or India, which had as many 166 of its hapless population shot to death by Pakistani terrorists.
Life is cheap in India. Indian lives don’t matter. That much is for sure. The Government of India has failed to do justice to the 166 killed. The BJP government, it was thought, would do what the UPA government did not. Especially, because the BJP always tom-toms that it’s a Hindu-nationalist party to all and sundry; a tough no-nonsense party.
Ha! The BJP is a spineless party. And the Modi government lacks a vertebra. Both are same, ‘spineless’ and ‘lacks the vertebrae’, but to double-stress the point will not do harm even if it doesn’t make a difference. For two years after taking charge, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi talked tough, fooling even the hardy Baloch, giving him hope, that Acche Din was coming his way, that Modi’s India will soon free him of the Pakistani yoke. What a joke!
The Baloch no more talks of Modi or his boast. He knows this Indian Prime Minister is all skin, no meat! Modi spends over Rs 3,000 crore on a statue that looks far out into the sea but wouldn’t put up a prize money of Rs 35 crore ($5 million) for info on those behind the Mumbai attacks. In fact, but for the United States, Modi might not have given a thought to the anniversary of the attacks. US Vice President Mike Pence met Modi in Singapore recently and he is believed to have raised 26/11 and rued that even 10 years after 26/11its perpetrators were still roaming free.
And but for the $5 million US reward, for news on those behind the attacks, we wouldn’t have heard of Pence raising the issue. The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program is offering the “reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted the execution of the 2008 Mumbai attack.”
“The United States is committed to working with our international partners to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attack,” the State Department said. The United States had earlier named LeT founder and 26/11 planner Hafiz Mohammad Saeed “global terrorist.” But how much is the Government of India committed? Not much it seems. The Modi government, meanwhile, has been sitting on its behind, yakking at appropriate intervals of hauling Hafiz to India even as Saeed mainstreamed and became part of Pakistan’s political process.
The fact of the matter is the Modi government has not given indication if it has a definitive Pakistan policy and where in it 26/11 fits. Modi’s ‘no talks with Pakistan till cross-border terror stops’ hasn’t yielded results. The diplomatic isolation of Pakistan also did not make a difference to that country’s reticence to hand over the 26/11 perpetrators. What good Modi thumping his 56” chest at international fora when none of that makes an impact on Pakistan?
On the 10 anniversary of 26/11, the United States and POTUS Donald Trump seem to be doing more to remind the world of one of the most horrendous terror attacks anywhere ever than the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for whom winning another stint as PM is all that matters. ‘Ek Vote De doh baba’ is all that Modi can sing on 26/11. (IPA Service)
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