INDO-PAK SNIPING CONTINUES; POLITICAL
PARTIES RELEASE ELECTION MANIFESTOES
Last week witnessed a further escalation of
the tension between India and Pakistan with Indian aircraft
gunning down a Pakistani maritime reconnaissance plane in
the western Indian state of Gujarat. The Indian authorities
have claimed that the plane flew 10-12 km into Indian air
space and was on a spying mission. The pilot of the Atlantique
aircraft refused to respond to signals from two Indian MIG-21
fighter planes. It took up a threatening stance and headed
for the two aircraft after which they shot it down. 16 crew
members lost their lives. The Pakistanis allege that the plane
was on a training sortie (the Pakistani information minister
admitted it was surveying the terrain) within Pakistani territory
and it was the Indian planes, which turned hostile and blasted
it out of the skies.
The Pakistanis responded a couple of days later
when they fired a missile at two Indian choppers, which were
surveying the locality, where the Atlantique was shot down.
Miraculously, the two choppers escaped. The incident, however,
caused an international furore with various governments wondering
whether the two nations would go to war again. The US administration,
which has played its role in the de-escalation of the warlike
mood between the two countries, said that India's shooting
down of the plane was not totally correct. It added that the
two countries should respect the accord that they had signed
in 1991 about not violating each other's air space.
The belligerent mood did not end as Pakistani
insurgents attacked and killed Indian soldiers with increasing
regularity through the week. The President and the Prime Minister
in their speeches on the occasion of the Indian Independence
Day said that the country has to be guarded against any attacks,
hinting that there could be an outbreak of violence between
the two countries.
Meanwhile, the government's new telecom policy,
which had been frowned upon by the Election Commission was
given a conditional go-ahead by the Delhi High Court. The
court said that the telecom firms should be allowed to migrate
to a revenue sharing formula from the current licensee fee
one but only if the next government manages to get it cleared
in Parliament. Should the shift-over fail to get Parliament's
nod, the firms will have to revert back to the licence regime.
Cellular and basic telecom operators agreed to give undertakings
that they would abide by what the court has decreed.
During the week, the various political parties
released their election manifestoes even as campaigning for
the elections began. Various polls conducted by publications
have revealed that the BJP along with its allies will gain
a majority of the vote during the forthcoming elections.
The Congress (I) has promised faster economic
liberalisation, further spending on defence, creation of 10
million jobs, secularism, an investigation into the Bofors
gun scandal, protection of minorities, creation of new Indian
states, among many other commitments.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
manifesto has sought to come up with legislation to bar non-natural
Indian citizens from holding senior posts like the Prime Minister
in the legislature. It has also promised to come up with a
new system which will fix a five-year term for the Lower House,
and make it mandatory for the Opposition to come up with an
alternative government before moving a no-confidence motion
against the government. The NDA has also pledged to review
the Prasar Bharati Act, and continue economic reforms with
a domestic thrust, targeting a foreign direct investment flow
of US$10 billion per annum.
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