Delhi blast: It's India vs terror, not Congress vs BJP

Yesterday, terror struck the national capital again. Many died, many more were injured. No amount of compensation will alleviate the grief of the families and friends of those directly affected. No platitudes will work, no promises of ‘resoluteness’, no promises of ‘swift action.’ None of this does anything. As the sad and depressing saga unfolded, provoked, aided, abetted, cajoled and conditioned by news television cameras, it became a game of the Congress party vs the Rest of India. To the average TV viewer, this was a game that the Congress lost. But this was not a game between the Congress party vs the Rest of India; it was a game between India and terrorists – and India lost. [caption id=“attachment_78756” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“P Chidambaram leaves after visiting the injured persons of High Court blast. PTI”]  [/caption] As the panel discussions continue, I switch off my TV in disgust and tiredness, as political parties try to score brownie points and win against each other. It’s a ridiculously unfair fight; whichever party is in power at the time of a terror attack will, seemingly, lose. But, as I’ve said earlier, this was not a game between the Congress party vs the Rest of India; it was a game between India and terrorists – and India lost. It’s time we learned this simple lesson. Can we move from destructive criticism to constructive criticism? At a time like this, can political parties close ranks and hold hands and fight as one? Can we have a bipartisan view on what needs to be done to tackle the menace of terror? Can we have a special session of parliament that looks at the issue in-depth and arrives at a consensus on actions at a macro level immediately? There is so much that can be fixed by money. Make these funds available. What do intelligence agencies need and how much does this cost? Write a goddamned cheque and be done with it. Our budget deficit is already out of whack; a few hundred crores more won’t do it much harm. There is so much that can be done by policy. Make this policy. Get the police reforms underway, depoliticise the intelligence wings of the country. These require consensus on a political level more than money. As far as the money is concerned, for God’s sake, print some more notes. There is nothing that can be done by politicking. That is the simple truth. The more the politicking, the more the terrorists have a laugh at us, and the more vulnerable the citizens of the country are. Stop this rubbish. It’s India’s problem, not the Congress’ problem or the BJP’s problem. The sooner we realise that the safer we will become.