The tirade against the ex-foreign secretary is uncalled for
The ‘controversy’, unfortunately, degenerated into personal attacks, on occasion amounting to charges of treasonous or extraordinarily stupid behaviour, simple-mindedness or sheer incompetence on the part of those in charge of our foreign policy—from the PM to external affairs minister S.M. Krishna to foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, who retired last month. While one has little knowledge of the capabilities of the new foreign minister, one can hardly classify the other two ‘accused’ as either ‘treasonous’ or ‘stupid’. Manmohan and Menon have proved themselves persons of outstanding intelligence and determination, and as possessed of an unerring sense of the shifting nuances of international relations, which has stood the country in good stead in parlous times—especially in our troubled neighbourhood.
The prime minister is a political being and has a forum to defend himself. Menon, on the other hand, was bound by the discipline of his office, and even when egregious interpretations were made of the most innocuous of statements, clarifications could only be given in private. What is it that has raised the hackles of those opposed not only to the statement, but also to the government? Umbrage has been taken to his reported statement that “while the drafting (of the joint statement) could be criticised, the substance could not”. Is that an admission of bad drafting?
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5:27 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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