Today's situation worse than Emergency: Arun Shourie
Mumbai: Former Union minister Arun Shourie Sunday said ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a "great sense of remorse" for imposing Emergency, but the situation today is "graver" than it was in 1975-77.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's juggernaut can be stopped in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls if the entire Opposition unites and follows the principle of one candidate against the BJP in every seat.
The journalist-turned-politician was addressing a session on 'Danger within the Judicial System' at Tata Literature Festival here.
"In 1975 (Emergency) there was much better defined opponent. Today there is widespread opponent. I can tell you this, the difference between Gandhi and Narendra Modi is that Gandhi had a great sense of remorse about what she had done," he said.
"Today, there is no remorse. In Gandhi's case I feel, in spite of the fact that she put 1,75,000 people in jail, there was a sense of limit...isse aage nahi jana hai (not beyond this point). But today there is no sense of limit," he added.
The Emergency lasted for 19 months, but today there is much more sustained and relentless assault at undermining institutions, Shourie said.
"...so I feel the situation now is much more graver than it was in 1975," he added.
Shourie asserted that opposition unity is key to defeating Modi in 2019.
"After all, Modi at the peak of his popularity (in 2014)... how many votes he got? Only 31 per cent. So if the opposition unites, it starts with 69 per cent of the votes," he said.
"In any case the BJP has no presence in the states where regional parties are strong. We should think of the Congress and support the Congress in those places where it is a dominant regional party," he said.
He added that if the leaders of the other parties don't agree on the principle of one candidate against a BJP candidate, then people should be approached to teach them a lesson for splitting opposition votes.
A former minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, Shourie said people should look within themselves to bring change.
"If we're not prepared to do anything, situation will be the way it is," he said.
He claimed all institutions are under assault, especially during the last four years, and have been destroyed by the "termite" inside them. "Institutions in India, I fear, are hollow," he said.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
