Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the BJP spokesperson had to take quite a criticism from the media and the government when he said President Obama “missed the first opportunity of striking a chord with the 100 crore people of India.” Even his party did not back him when he said that the BJP expected a “sharp, categorical statement against Pakistan.”
Even more important than striking a chord with 100 crore people, is the US commitment in the war on terror (WoT). Rudy just like millions of others wanted to question the US focus on the WoT. Dilution of the focus with tactical approaches like talking to Taliban and Pakistan creates confusion and distrust between the allies in the WoT. The US and the rest of the democracies need realize that the WoT can only be won with an uncompromising and unified stand. Having gray areas will only encourage the terror breading state like Pakistan to produce more and more “non state actors”.
Even more important than striking a chord with 100 crore people, is the US commitment in the war on terror (WoT). Rudy just like millions of others wanted to question the US focus on the WoT. Dilution of the focus with tactical approaches like talking to Taliban and Pakistan creates confusion and distrust between the allies in the WoT. The US and the rest of the democracies need realize that the WoT can only be won with an uncompromising and unified stand. Having gray areas will only encourage the terror breading state like Pakistan to produce more and more “non state actors”.
This US attitude “Hamara pair charan aur aap ka pair, pair” is unacceptable
I don’t think that “genuine criticism” masks any kind of rudeness. Rudy being a Hindu nationalist knows and lives by the “atithee devo bhav” rule. The very fact that someone like him said what he did, betrays the extreme anxiety in India about the US approach to the AFPAK problem. After all, when the US leaves, it will be countries like India who will suffer in the wake of that departure. Rudy in his own way pointed that the emperor has no clothes.
But still, Rudy’s comments did not go un-noticed or in a vacuum. India Today quotes stock broker Dilip Samant saying that "To visit a 26/ 11 memorial and not mention Pakistan as a perpetrator of the worst terror act in India is not only ridiculous, it is humiliating to the memory of those who died that day. ... Had Obama mentioned Pakistan in his speech even obliquely, it could have assuaged some anger that we Mumbaikars feel."
Rudy good
A BJP politician's criticism of the visiting president Obama is fair game, says N.V.Subramanian.
“The US president has his compulsions which may appear completely unjustified to India. But India also has its compulsions to be heard in respect of Pakistani terrorism. The government may think the army chief's choreographed TV interview suffices to publicize India's position. But it cannot be the case that everyone has to be satisfied with it. If you consider Rajiv Pratap Rudy's statement dispassionately, you would agree that even if his tenor was a little shrill, the substance was all right. More to the point, it has had its impact, because Obama subsequently did make references to Pakistan's lack of speed in containing terrorist elements inside the country.”
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