With the terrorist attack on the Air force base in Pathankot and reports of a heightened terrorist movements and suicide attacks imminent, it is time for India to have a full-fledged Defence Minister and not the current incumbent who has taken upon himself to have the dual charge of the Defence Ministry and the State of Goa.
The security preparedness of the country cannot be left in the hands of a half Defence Minister. While the response of the armed forces, and the intelligence forces in dealing with the Pathankot attack has been commendable, it does not appear to be under the leadership of the Defence Minister. The nation needs to know what Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s priorities were on the December 31st, 1st and 2nd after intelligence reports confirmed the impending terrorist suicide attack. He re-arrived in Goa within days of being here where he addressed party MLAs on several local issues. From future political alliances to candidates as well as the party’s preparedness for the civic elections in Panjim, nothing was out of bounds for the Defence Minister.
And on January 2nd, if the Pakistan handled terrorists hadn’t thrown his schedule off gear, Mr Parrikar would have been conducting a prolonged meeting to decide if the Goa cabinet’s decision to give grants to English medium schools in the primary sections in Goa, should be notified as an act. The Goa government is paranoid about passing a bill to implement the cabinet decision because of the backlash from the anti-English pro-Marathi Konkani lobby but also knows it will meet its waterloo if it ignores the demand of parents and does not finally pass the bill.
For the Defence Minister, this was far more complicated than the armed forces picking up call intercepts which tracked a suicide bomber who had crossed over to India, calling his mother in Pakistan to tell her that he was on a suicide mission. This is after the SP of Gurdaspur had been kidnapped and his friend’s throat slit by terrorists, with intelligence reports of a certain attack on the air force base.
Isn’t it perfectly logical to ask, why the Defence Minister could not have stayed away from Goa in the middle of the most worrying security crisis in India and coordinated with the NSA, the army chiefs and the Punjab police in Delhi. He did not lead from the front. Herald’s sources in Delhi, both in the media and in the establishment, have confirmed independently, that it was NSA Ajit Doval who acted both as the Defence and Security Commander reporting directly to Prime Minister Modi who took all crucial calls the Minister of Defence is supposed to take.
As it became evident that the attack on the IAF base was imminent, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with security officials. Then, reports stated, following orders from the Prime Minister’s Office, teams from the National Security Guard, Special Forces of the Indian Army and additional soldiers were moved to various installations at Pathankot. Meanwhile in Goa, on Friday, the Defence Minister spoke to the press and attacked NGOs in Goa for blocking development projects and wondered how NGOs like Goa Foundation had resources to go to court against the Goa government.
It was in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, that the Defence MInister rushed back from Goa after the attack in Pathankot had happened and lives were already lost.
The logic that technology has made the world smaller and the Defence Minister can work from anywhere does not hold good. This is too sensitive a portfolio which requires 24×7 attention. The Defence Minister cannot possibly be giving his full attention to India’s Defence when he is micro managing Goa’s issues two days a week, promising to course correct the errors and faults of the Goa government.
If he is out of depth in Defence, he should be moved to a different ministry. If the PM still feels that he is the right man for the job then he should ensure that he is a full Defence Minister, not a half and half one.
