By S. Sivathasan –
The susceptibilities of Tamils are now under constant laceration. The man who has earned the ire of all Tamils is Swamy. From the day Modi was elected Prime Minister, this man thinks he has come into his own. By himself of no consequence, of miniscule weight and without credibility, he has purportedly attached himself to Modi and the BJP government. So he prates and behaves in Sri Lanka. It is very unfortunate that the new government has taken kindly to his scheming ways. His malevolence erodes the image of governance by the day.
Lanka should be “A FEDERATED STATE OF INDIA”. So asserted Swamy not so long ago. Unable to put up with his unsolicited advice the Sunday Times of August 31, 2014 quoted him to tear his mask down. It went further to say “now the government (Sri Lankan) gives the self-styled leader a red-carpet welcome”. Is leader the appropriate word? For reasons of culture apparently, the term impostor has been veered from.
General Gerry de Silva, a one time Jaffna Commander and later a respected Sri Lanka Army Commander has this to say in his book ‘A Most Noble Profession’. “A day after EPS (Elephant Pass) fell into the hands of theLTTE in April 2000, Dr. Subramanian Swamy made a public statement to the effect that if Sri Lanka wanted India to intervene once more she would have to submit to demands of being a federated state of India.”
Times points out as Swamy saying , that Sri Lanka should become a part of the federated state of Indiathus denouncing its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Even Velupillai Prabhakaran, the guerrilla leader who fought for a separate state but failed, did not make such a demand. The same Indianpolitician is now hailed by Sri Lanka. The same Swamy is not only an honoured guest at a seminar on defence but is also taken under heavily armed escort to see military installations.
R Sampanthan MP and leader of the Tamils said “Subramanian Swamy spoke for the Modi Government and went as BJP leader. It has become clear now that the man, who once tried to cross the Palk Straits with a flotilla of boats, to avoid Tamils being “massacred” in Sri Lanka , is portraying himself as a leader in the National Development Alliance government”. Long standing Tamil residents in US recall his days of advocacy of Tamil Eelam and the prominent role he will play in its creation.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs too has stated categorically that Swamy has no mandate whatsoever to speak for the government. Col. Hariharan a regular columnist on Tamil issues says that Swamy is described as a nincompoop in Indian politics. He takes pride in saying that apprehending Indian fishers and confiscating their boats are off his mind. Thamilisai a BJP leader of Tamil Nadu has declared that his views are never BJP views.
Times adds Swamy was making some sweeping statements while in Colombo. He said the TNA must get the Sri Lankan Government’s approval before meeting Premier Modi. One wag was to ask if he got his Government’s permission to meet President Rajapaksa. Premier Modi met the TNA as we know and theTNA did not get any permission from the Rajapaksa Government to do so. So what is Swamy’s standing really, with the BJP Government in New Delhi?
Needless to say he has no standing with the party and nil connection with the government. Narendra Modi keeps him at arm’s length. In Tamil Nadu he is the laughing stock of all. In the Chennai court complex the people in their mass vented their wrath on him with even a splash of rotten eggs. What a fate for a Brahmin! So unrestrainable was their overwhelming venom. May it be remembered that this episode was regarding his stance against the Tamils.
Politics is serious affair for all Tamils at this moment of time. To them Tamil Nadu and by extension India are benign partners if not patrons to resolve a problem which has become virtually intractable. They look up to Prime Minister Narendira Modi and his resoluteness. The intercession of a leader like Yashwant Sinha too is being looked forward to. How much will our disappointment and anger be when we dream of Krishna and Yudhistra but Sakuni thrusts himself instead?
When an individual of uncertain political background and of no consequence in his place of birth Tamil Nadu, tries to sport credentials which he doesn’t have, would it suffice for the government merely to distance itself from such a person? As of now when this man has gone past the Modi government for over three months with absolute nonchalance, it is very disconcerting to think of the harm he has done and the havoc he is yet to cause.
A century back Russia called Rasputin the Mad Monk and thought its responsibility was over. Czar Nicholas paid for it. Calling Swamy names will not do. The world should be made to know that he is persona non grata by the government of India and that he has no entry into the counsels of India. Thereafter President Rajapaksa will not be able to diddle the masses or to pull wool over the eyes of the Tamils.
For Modi’s sense of moral rectitude, India owes it to humanity to do this. Then She can triumphantly say, “Satyam Eva Jayathe”, as inscribed prominently in Lok Sabha.