Anita Katyal | Why Journos Were Anticipating Strike; Sindoor Proves Cong Face Saver

Though it was known that India would avenge the terrorist attack at Pahalgam that killed 26 persons, everyone was kept guessing about the timing of the retaliatory strike. And when it did happen, people were taken by surprise as they had all been lulled into complacency. Cynics were convinced that India would hit back closer to the Bihar Assembly elections. Journalists on the defence beat did get an inkling a few days ago that a military strike was imminent but there was no clarity on the matter. The defence beat journalists normally make a beeline for the Army wing located in the basement of South Block as it deals informally with media queries and also handles social media and anything related to information warfare. The room was even more packed following the Pahalgam attack in view of the incessant chatter about a looming armed conflict.

Journalists were taken aback last Monday when they were confronted with a closed door with a terse message pasted on it saying “Media friends” are requested not to enter any office of the army wing. Since it was the first time that journalists had been barred from this meeting room, it was speculated that a strategy was being devised on dealing with the media as and when India did conduct a military strike. As it happened, the strike took place sooner than expected.

Like other Opposition parties, the Trinamul Congress has also extended full support to the Narendra Modi government in its fight against terror and hailed the armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor. However, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to back the Centre has not deterred her from persisting with her political battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is working hard to expand its footprint in this eastern state. She had earlier made some snide remarks that it is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi but Union home minister Amit Shah who is running the government. Her latest move is to appropriate the BJP’s Hindu base with the consecration of a replica of the Jagannath Temple in East Midnapore. This move follows the recent riots over the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill which have exacerbated the communal divide in the state.

Meanwhile, Operation Sindoor has come to the rescue of the Congress. Party general secretary K.C. Venugopal announced last week that the Congress was pausing its political programmes, including the planned Samvidhan Bachao rallies, in solidarity with the armed forces. The truth is that Congress plans to hold a series of Samvidhan Bachao rallies across the country had met with a tepid response from the party cadre. Except for Rajasthan and Karnataka, none of the other Congress state units made any attempt to follow up on the party‘s announcement. Operation Sindoor happened when the Congress was struggling to enthuse its workers, thus providing the party a timely face saver and allowing it to take a high moral stand on the issue of national security.

The recent statement by Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra on the Pahalgam terror attack has fuelled demands for his removal by the party’s Jammu leaders. Having suffered six electoral defeats against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Jammu region, angry Congress leaders pointed out that Mr Karra’s statement asking India to desist from going to war with Pakistan and suggesting third party mediation contradicted the official party stand. They said it was difficult for them to defend his views given the overzealous nationalist stand taken by the BJP particularly in the Hindu dominated Jammu region. Jammu Congress leaders are pressing the leadership that the state unit should be headed by someone from Jammu on the ground that the party still has an organisation here whereas it is a poor third to the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party in the Kashmir Valley. Alternatively, they cite the Mumbai example, suggesting that Jammu should have a similar separate territorial set-up. Known to make controversial statements, Mr Karra had proposed a separate currency for Jammu and Kashmir as finance minister in the Mufti government.

The Rekha Gupta government in Delhi is having a fairly easy run as neither of the two Opposition parties — the Aam Aadmi Party or the Congress — have been effective in cornering the Bharatiya Janata Party-led dispensation in the Capital. While Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is still coming to terms with its fall from grace in the last Assembly election, the Congress Party’s silence is inexplicable. Take the case of the recent thunderstorm which led to waterlogging in large parts of the Capital even as the civic amenities came a cropper. Presented with an excellent opportunity to pin down the Rekha Gupta government and occupy the Opposition space vacated by the AAP, the Delhi Congress unit chose to maintain a studied silence. The buzz is that Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav has arrived at an understanding with the BJP. According to the local grapevine, two former Congress leaders, who crossed over to the BJP on election-eve, are in close touch with Mr Yadav. Needless to say, this development has created a fresh problem for the Congress leadership.