Life of every Indian valuable: Rahul Gandhi
Congress Genext leader Rahul Gandhi intoned the rhetoric, talking of the Mumbai terror strikes as a “war on India” and spoke of sending out the message to the perpetrators that there would be a cost to the killings.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: Even as the UPA government struck a determined posture over fighting terrorism during the Parliamentary debate on Thursday, Congress Genext leader Rahul Gandhi intoned the rhetoric, talking of the Mumbai terror strikes as a ���war on India��� and spoke of sending out the message to the perpetrators that there would be a cost to the killings. He also highlighted a prevailing mindset in India which did not see the lives of ordinary Indians as valuable.
���India will not stand around and tolerate people coming into her cities and killing her people,��� he said, without delving into what the country���s proposed response to this ���new kind of warfare��� should be. The Nehru Gandhi scion also did not make any observations on Pakistan���s role in the recent attacks sticking to a apolitical script.
In a speech which skimmed the surface of terror issue, he spoke of the attack as being directed at ���institutions of the country��� such as freedom of the people, including that of the press, and at democratic practices. He pointed out that the date had been chosen carefully before elections to show ���differences between politicians���.
The bulk of his speech was taken up by his observations about how ���we had stopped valuing the life of individual Indians���. The leader, who is a long-time SPG protectee, spoke of how this attitude stood in stark contrast to how security forces guarded VIPs and those moving around in ���lal batti��� vehicles. The statement is the mould of his earlier observations about the ills of the Indian political system of which he called himself a ���symptom.���
Mr Gandhi said ���we should not need a Mumbai to remind us that people are dying��� and said the ���central failure��� brought out by the recent events was that India was ���ready to tolerate these deaths���. He spoke about Mumbai policeman Omble who died fighting the terrorists saying he had courage in adequate amounts but not enough equipment to save his life.
���It is not enough to protect the lives of ordinary Indians. They (terrorists) need to understand clearly that not only do we hold the lives of ordinary Indians dear but there is a cost to killing.���
Speaking of reforming the police forces, Mr Gandhi put the onus on the political class saying it should not interfere with ���central institutions fundamental in protecting citizens���.
���India will not stand around and tolerate people coming into her cities and killing her people,��� he said, without delving into what the country���s proposed response to this ���new kind of warfare��� should be. The Nehru Gandhi scion also did not make any observations on Pakistan���s role in the recent attacks sticking to a apolitical script.
In a speech which skimmed the surface of terror issue, he spoke of the attack as being directed at ���institutions of the country��� such as freedom of the people, including that of the press, and at democratic practices. He pointed out that the date had been chosen carefully before elections to show ���differences between politicians���.
The bulk of his speech was taken up by his observations about how ���we had stopped valuing the life of individual Indians���. The leader, who is a long-time SPG protectee, spoke of how this attitude stood in stark contrast to how security forces guarded VIPs and those moving around in ���lal batti��� vehicles. The statement is the mould of his earlier observations about the ills of the Indian political system of which he called himself a ���symptom.���
Mr Gandhi said ���we should not need a Mumbai to remind us that people are dying��� and said the ���central failure��� brought out by the recent events was that India was ���ready to tolerate these deaths���. He spoke about Mumbai policeman Omble who died fighting the terrorists saying he had courage in adequate amounts but not enough equipment to save his life.
���It is not enough to protect the lives of ordinary Indians. They (terrorists) need to understand clearly that not only do we hold the lives of ordinary Indians dear but there is a cost to killing.���
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Speaking of reforming the police forces, Mr Gandhi put the onus on the political class saying it should not interfere with ���central institutions fundamental in protecting citizens���.
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