LIVE TV
Odisha
Recommended Stories
Bhubaneswar: While the popular sentiments of the nation sail with Modi government's decision to revoke Article 370, the yawning divide among the country's mainstream political parties has become a fodder for the Pakistani establishment and the media there.
When Pakistani leaders across the spectrum speak in one voice opposing the abrogation of Article 370, the deep divide in India over the scrapping of Article 370 has been latched on to by Pakistani government with glee.
The media and leaders there while in one voice decry the Indian government's move, they love to quote the statements of Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, who on the floor of the House said, "We [Congress] stand by the Constitution of India. We will do anything to protect the Constitution."
He went further in condemning the move by saying "Today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has murdered the Constitution. It has murdered democracy." Azad also said: "These people (the BJP) have come to power lately. They do not know, have not considered the strategic aspects [...] to play around with border state, its people, it is being a traitor to the country."
And these very statements like 'murder of democracy', traitors have been making the headlines on the other side of Indian borders. The media there is playing up such adjectives to the hilt.
The statements of MDMK leader M Vaiko, who has no qualms in supporting LTTE and honouring terrorists who killed former PM Rajiv Gandhi, have also been the flavour in Pak media. Vaiko said: "You have played with the sentiments of people of Kashmir. When additional army personnel were deployed there, I was worried. Kashmir should not become Kosovo, East Timor and South Sudan. I am opposing this bill [Article 370]. This is a day of shame, shame, shame [...] this is murder of democracy."
Pakistan's leading newspaper The Dawn has made Vaiko's this statement of 'Shame, Shame, Shame’ its headline.
Foreign policy experts view such aggressive protests and adjectives used by Indian leaders as something that do not augur well for the country's foreign policy imperatives. Because, Pakistan government can use this in other international foras and try to build an opinion against Indian cause on Kashmir.
However, political observers view this as another shock therapy for the opposition, especially the Congress party. It seems the Congress party is yet to learn any lesson from the Balakote strikes. What Mayawati and Arvind Kejriwal have learnt, the dawn is yet to happen in Congress, they observed.
The big thing observed in the Article 370 saga is Rahul Gandhi, who was the party President till a month ago, is yet to respond on the development even via his twitter handle.
