Time for Fernandes to go

THE front page signed editorial “Time for George to go” (June 2) unequivocally castigates the Vajpayee government for its inept handling of the situation obtaining on the Kargil-Dras front. I whole-heartedly endorse the demand for Defence Minister George Fernandes’s immediate ouster from the sensitive office.

Bluntly speaking, Mr Fernandes’s style of functioning seems quixotic as is evident from his mindless statement giving “clean chit” to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as also the ISI. His reported unprecedented directive to some senior defence personnel for a “special briefing” about the Kargil situation for the BJP national executive is also a pointer in the same direction. No doubt, the man seems unworthy of the “sensitive office” and he must go — the sooner the better, as Mr Hari Jaisingh opines.

The so-called ‘bus diplomacy” has, inter alia, exposed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s utter gullibility viz-a-viz his Pakistani counterpart. While India may rightly boast of one of the best military machines in the world, the country seems to suffer from a woeful lack of “qualitative political leadership” at the moment. Under the circumstances, the country’s President has, to my mind, an extra- ordinary role to play at this hour of grave crisis. He may go in for a national government to meet the challenge posed by the unhappy situation. Desperate maladies call for drastic remedies, they say. What is at stake is the security of the country and not the future of any political party, after all.

TARA CHAND
Ambota (Una)

BRAJESH MISHRA: I read the front page editorial “George, Brajesh have a lot to answer” (May 30) with frightening feelings. Looking at the map of the Kargil sector, I could not imagine that Dras and Kargil are so close to the LoC and thus so vulnerable. The importance particularly of Kargil was in its being a district town with all its paraphernalia — offices of the DC, the SP, a school, etc — and the people involved in their normal activities with a sense of protective presence of the personnel of the Army. Yet the situation could not be safe enough from the civilian point of view nor the ground realities were good enough for the Army to give up its routine beats as close to the LoC as possible.

Apparently, while the army officers on the Indian side drank and danced giving full freedom to whoever liked to cross the LoC along with their arms, may be with the connivance of the locals, their Pakistani counterparts studiously did their homework, planned their strategy for permanent stay, selected safer places and entrenched themselves.

The politicians have made us believe that every minister is omniscient. It is essential to know from Mr George Fernandes to tell the country about his role in the Kargil episode. If his reply is in the negative he may say so, and exercise his option to quit.

Mr Brajesh Mishra is the National Security Adviser. He may tell the country what was his advice about the action called for in regard to Kargil. Although he is not a minister, being an eminent adviser, he can exercise the same option as a special case.

TARA CHAND SAHI
Chandigarh

SPEAKING WITHOUT REASON: “Time for George to go” makes us alert to the possible dangers in future to this great country because of its own politicians. The basic drawback in the personality of Mr George Fernandes is that he speaks too much and sometimes without any rhyme and reason. In his eyes, the Prime Minister of Pakistan is innocent and his army is mischievous. In fact, Mr Fernandes seems to think that he knows more than anybody else in this country about Pakistan.

I think it would not be judicious to lay all the blame at the door of the BJP government about the unfortunate situation in the Kargil area. But our intelligence agencies must be blamed for their utter failure to inform the nation in time about the disturbing presence of the infiltrators in the valley. It is not for the first time that they have forced the common man to raise doubts about their efficiency and modus operandi. In 1984 also, if the KGB had not warned us in time, just before “Operation Bluestar”, we would never have known the actual strength of the militants and their real intentions.

RAJ BAHADUR YADAV
Rewari

Mr Fernandes is an honest politician. He is a politician and yet an honest and simple person — a hero for the honest people of India.

S. P. SINGH
Chandigarh

EXPOSING SHARIF: It was not a faux pas on the part of Mr George Fernandes when he was exposing the actual status of Mr Nawaz Sharif in the Pakistan establishment. The whole world knows that the elected government in Pakistan is always a cover for the army to continue playing its dirty games around the globe.

The patriotism of Mr Fernandes cannot be questioned. His concern for the armed forces cannot be disputed. It is right to say that our intelligence agencies failed to read the designs of the Pakistani army.

S. K. BAJAJ
Abohar