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HomeOpinionModi MonitorKarnataka instability to Kulbhushan Jadhav: This has been a good week for...

Karnataka instability to Kulbhushan Jadhav: This has been a good week for PM Modi

The biggest feather in Modi’s cap these last few days has been International Court of Justice verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav.

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Two tweets stand out in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter feed this week. The first, demonstrating joy over the International Court of Justice verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav – “truth and justice have prevailed” – and the second, describing the “humbling” experience, on Guru Purnima Tuesday, upon meeting Sri Vishvesha Teertha Swamiji of the Sri Pejawara Matha in Udupi, Karnataka.

Learning from him and hearing his thoughts is a very humbling experience. pic.twitter.com/DcP0GtF3HG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 16, 2019

In one photo, the Modi leads the kindly old gentleman by the arm and directs him to a chair. In another, both of them are sitting down, smiling warmly at each other.

Would it be too cynical to ask why the PM picked a holy man from Karnataka to spend time with, in the same week the Supreme Court told the Karnataka Speaker that there was no need to force MLAs who had left the Congress party – and presumably want to join the BJP – to come and vote on the floor of the House?


Also read: Governance has gone for a toss in Karnataka as its leaders are busy saving the government


From the thousands of holy men in saffron that dot this land, the PM this week picked this man from Karnataka. Modi must surely be given full marks for attempting to shape both earthly and unearthly events, all for the sake of his party.

But the biggest feather in Modi’s cap these last few days has been the 15-1 verdict at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) granting Jadhav not just immediate consular access by the Pakistani authorities, but also the “right to defence” in a further review and retrial.

This is certainly a slap on the face of Pakistan. It comes hours after the arrest of Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed (even if Saeed’s arrest, just before Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the US, is to show the Americans that Pakistan is falling in line with FATF demands on ending terror financing). And it comes a mere three days after Pakistan agreed to India’s demands on how to build a corridor to the Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara across the border from India.

This has been a good last few days for PM Modi. The Janata Dal(Secular)-Congress government in Karnataka is far too unsteady to last much longer. The Goa Congress has already presented itself to the BJP. Even former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s son, Neeraj Shekhar, has joined the party – there was no place for him in his mother party, the Samajwadi Party.


Also read: On Kulbhushan Jadhav, Pakistan must blame its military for another international humiliation


The BJP is well on its way to a “Congress-mukt Bharat”, and Modi is a key factor in making that happen.

“Our government will always work for the safety and welfare of every Indian,” Modi tweeted in response to the ICJ decision on Jadhav. This is the kind of message American presidents usually put out to their citizenry. It is the kind of message that warms the cockles of every Indian’s heart.

To go the extra mile against Pakistan and to win a small but significant victory in the Jadhav case must be credited to Modi. The PM demonstrated political will by insisting that India persist with the case. After all, Jadhav is not the first Indian – and he won’t be the last – to land in the crosshairs of the ISI.

Certainly, Pakistan isn’t giving up Jadhav soon. It may even try him again in another military court – the ICJ doesn’t tell Pakistan what kind of trial he should get. But with access to Indian high commission officials as well as a lawyer who will shape his defence, Jadhav will be able to tell the world how he is being treated.

In the court of world opinion, Jadhav – and India – can presumably demonstrate his innocence.

What is equally interesting is the complete silence that prevails around the disappearance of retired ISI officer, Lt Col Mohammed Habib Zahir, from Lumbini on the Nepal-India border in April 2017. Seems Zahir travelled to Nepal to accept a lucrative assignment, that paid as much as $8,500 per month, from Strategic Solutions Consultancy.


Also read: Kulbhushan Jadhav guilty of crimes in Pakistan & will be treated as per law: Imran Khan


Pakistan media reports of the time say Zahir was kidnapped by India’s RAW intelligence agency in retaliation for the death penalty given to Jadhav. One report even claimed that Zahir was in the team that lured Jadhav into Pakistan and kidnapped him.

Spy-versus-spy games that are as old as the hills are likely to come alive again. Modi’s right-hand man, national security adviser Ajit Doval, doesn’t need to do too much right now, just wait until the right offer emerges. Modi’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar spoke to Jadhav’s family in Mumbai as soon as the ICJ announced its verdict in The Hague.

Can a Kulbhushan Jadhav for Habib Zahir (if he is in India) swap take place in 2019? Right now, Modi is only exhorting his MPs to attend Parliament. Perhaps, there isn’t much more to be said, at least for the moment.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Bringing Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav home safely should be the priority. There should be an understanding between the two security establishments to deal effectively with such matters.

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