How PM Modi's Idea Of An All-Party Squad After Op Sindoor Works On Five Levels

News18

2 days ago

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It is one of India's strongest shows of bipartisan unity between the government and the Opposition in many decades
Uddhav Sena called it a 'baraat' or wedding party. The Congress was upset that its own leader, Shashi Tharoor, was acting like the BJP's 'super spokesman". Even a section of the BJP's own support base was unpleasantly surprised that the Narendra Modi government was using its own bitter opponents in an overseas mission.
Some said it betrayed the BJP's weakness in setting the global narrative. But beyond what is immediately visible lies a masterclass in Modi's political manoeuvre. And it works at levels and over a length of time far beyond the obvious.
Here are five ways in which the roping in of politicians from the most diverse ideologies helps the nation, the government, and the party.
The 59-member team visiting 32 countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels includes Opposition leaders ranging from Shashi Tharoor of the Congress to Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM, Kanimozhi of the DMK to Supriya Sule of the NCP, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Uddhav Sena to John Brittas of the CPM.
First, it is one of India's strongest shows of bipartisan unity between the government and the Opposition in many decades. There have been other occasions, for instance during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 or after the Pokhran nuclear tests, when various Opposition parties supported the government's war efforts. But this is the first time the Centre has so boldly adopted a Team India approach to diplomacy.
Second, the whole initiative serves to break down the walls around communication between the Central government and the Opposition. It also makes floor management easier in Parliament.
Third, raising a unified voice against terrorism and India's enemies like Pakistan gives the non-BJP leaders—who are sometimes accused of taking unpatriotic stands on internal and external security—a new goodwill among citizens. It incentivises nationalism for the Opposition. Love and service for the nation, in their unconditional form, are their own reward. But in politics, they incidentally also fetch votes.
Fourth, PM Modi's initiative has created a talent pool of national spokespersons from across party lines speaking beyond party lines, exclusively for Bharat. It has added brilliant orators like Shashi Tharoor and Asaduddin Owaisi to the exceptional tradition of oratory which the BJP-RSS family brings. It deepens India's bench strength in setting the diplomatic and political narrative worldwide.
And fifth, in one stroke, PM Modi and his government have managed to marginalise grumpy and rabidly anti-Modi legacy leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray, as well as the loony Left and Islamists. Even within their respective parties and voter bases, the united outreach shows these leaders as petty, narcissistic, and even inimical to India's interests. RaGa's rants and false accusations on Operation Sindoor are being discredited by Congress and Opposition representatives themselves in several world capitals.
The entire exercise brings a paradigm shift. It moves the middle ground of Indian politics quite a few feet towards the nationalist Right and away from the globalist Left.
All these are happening quietly and simultaneously, leaving social media busy and confused about whom to side with, because the sides have blurred.
Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.