BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey has again attacked the Congress party and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for inviting American intervention in negotiations with Pakistan—a step he says went against the spirit of the Shimla Agreement.
Dubey showed a letter from former US President Ronald Reagan to Rajiv Gandhi, who offered the idea that the then Indian Prime Minister had asked the US to help broker the negotiations with Pakistan.
In his tweet, Dubey said, "Being a Gandhi is not easy." He pointed out that, as per the 1972 Shimla Agreement, all disputes between India and Pakistan were to be settled through direct bilateral negotiations, without third-party mediation. He asked, "Why then did Rajiv Gandhi turn to the United States for assistance in bringing about talks with Pakistan?"
Citing extracts from Reagan's letter, Dubey underlined the US's declared intention to find peace in the region and its willingness to cooperate with the two countries in the prevention of a future conflict.
The letter contains Reagan's words: "Mr Prime Minister, we lend all our support to all measures which assist in bringing peace and security to South Asia… To assist in precluding similar unfortunate misapprehensions in the future, we have put some background on procedures in place between Eastern and Western Europe. We are making available to both your government and the Pakistan government further information which could assist in precluding future tensions."
The letter is also cited as suggesting Rajiv Gandhi's idea to include American drug liaison officers in India-Pakistan bilateral narcotics talks.
Reagan penned, "I was especially interested in the suggestion in your letter of January 7 that American drug liaison agents be linked with your bilateral narcotics consultations… I assure you we will be glad to help in whatever ways you and the Government of Pakistan would find useful."
Dubey's remarks are in the wake of the BJP's general criticism of the Congress party's historical foreign policy decisions, particularly on national security and diplomatic matters.
Previously, Dubey had tweeted a declassified US State Department telegram dated 1963, which criticized former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru for taking decisions that led to territorial losses to Pakistan.
He stated, "Iron Lady Indira Gandhi.". Though opposed by the then Defense Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram and Army Chief Sam Manekshaw, India itself brought the 1971 war to an end under American pressure. Babu Jagjivan Ram wished the war to go on until the portion of Kashmir grabbed by Pakistan was recovered, but the Iron Lady's fear and the fear of China kept this at bay. Was it better for India to regain its land and the Kartarpur Gurdwara or to make Bangladesh?
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