After the Surgical Strikes, the opposition quite predictably was utterly dismayed by the probable electoral consequences of Narendra Modi’s decision to give clearance to the Indian Army for conducting the operation at Pakistan Occupied Kashmir against the terrorists that threaten the security of our nation. There was also a considerable amount of distress among the peaceniks and those in the media who bear a pathological hatred towards the Prime Minister of India. Both these camps had confused Narendra Modi’s words for an end in itself and a continual of a diplomatic approach towards Pakistan. Neither of them had quite anticipated that Modi would actually Walk the Talk when it came to his policy against Pakistan.
Urged by their existential crisis, the opposition was on a relentless pursuit from day one to undermine Narendra Modi’s contribution towards the Surgical Strikes against Pakistan. Some even went to the extent of demanding evidence of the fact that the Surgical Strikes did indeed take, casting aspersions on the character of the Army in the process. Arvind Kejriwal, being Arvind Kejriwal, even managed to gain immense popularity in Pakistan and managed to have a hashtag congratulating him for his atrocious remarks. Rahul Gandhi, also staying true to his character, managed to create a ruckus with his outrageous ‘Khoon ki Dalali’ remark. The Samajwadi Party went a couple of steps ahead, maybe miles ahead, and declared that it was Mulayam Singh’s advice which prompted Narendra Modi to give permission for the Surgical Strikes. These collective assault on our sensibilities made it very clear that the opposition was extremely rattled and even more desperate to salvage some sort of political mileage after Narendra Modi firmly asserted his credentials and completely destroyed theirs.
One conspicuous absence in the party however was the Media which has been traditionally anti-Modi and vehemently opposed to any sort of military aggression against Pakistan. Perhaps still reeling from the aftereffects of the heartbreaks they had to endure after Modi crushed their dreams of him turning into Manmohan 2.0, it seems they were using the time only to plan vengeance against the BJP. Thus, the Hindu published leaked details of a certain cross-border raid that were carried out by the army in 2011. It was perhaps to lend credibility to the UPA’s claims that surgical strikes happened during their time as well. But firstly, they were not surgical strikes and secondly, there’s no indication that the raid had been sanctioned by the UPA high command and we have to wait to find out exactly how the Congress responded to these raids as more details are revealed.
NDA government had reduced the pensions for the disabled men of the Army. Really?
The media after realizing that the Cross-Border raids did not gain as much traction as they hoped it would decided to take reignite their efforts with renewed vigor. And along came the media reports that the NDA government had reduced the pensions for the disabled men of the Army. As expected, the opposition began to trash the government without caring to the verify the authenticity of the claims. Supporters of the opposition party who had thus far been hiding in their caves were out in the open relishing the opportunity of mocking the BJP. It was open season for them but unfortunately, their joy was short lived.
Disability Pensions of those invalidated by injuries in the line of duty turned out to be another hoax perpetuated by those in the media.
Indeed, if the rumors were true, they would have seriously hurt the BJP’s patriotic credentials and their claims of strengthening the Army and boosting the morale of our Warriors at the Border would have taken a severe hit. But as it turned out, claims of BJP reducing the pensions of those invalidated by injuries in the line of duty by outlets such as The Wire and DailyO turned out to be another hoax perpetuated by those in the media to hurt the rightwing party and offer a lifeline to their political masters on the verge of political annihilation. It also reveals the extent to which the media would go, risking even the little credibility they have left, to hurt the Narendra Modi. One suspects such vicious attacks are not motivated by pathological hatred alone, it is driven by more earthly matters such as monetary quips and a taste of actual power or merely returning a favor that was once promised to an important person in an ecosystem of lies and secrets.
Disability pensions for war injury cases for personnel who have been invalidated have not been touched – Government
The government rubbished the claims that any such reductions had been sanctioned and in fact, exactly the opposite was the reality. “There was a dramatised article in the media today describing how the pensions of army personnel who participated in the surgical strike get cut drastically if they got severely injured during the surgical strike. But the fact is, that the disability pensions for war injury cases for personnel who have been invalidated have not been touched, according to the recommendations of the 7th pay commission,” sources said. The sources stayed further, “The truth is that the disability pension for non-battle cases has increased for majority of the personnel.” They added, “The increase in disability pensions ranges from around 14 per cent to 30 per cent among the PBORs/JCOs. In fact the disability pension of almost 90 per cent of the armed forces personnel have been significantly increased.”
After the fog has dissipated, it seems the media reported exactly the opposite of what was true. Such dubious reporting cannot be ascribed to incompetence alone. The only thing that explains such an audacious attempt at inversion of reality is ‘Malafide Intentions’. Our ministers, however, restrict themselves to using Social Media to rebut these malicious lies. On any given day, one would be expected to find one Minister or the other rebutting these vicious lies with the strongest of words. But the lies are so numerous in number, often Twitteratis have to lend a hand in combating these lies. One wonders what will it take for the BJP to realize that Twitter wars and Facebook battles are for ordinary people like us who are more than willing to help as and when required according to our capabilities. As the ruling party, they should be exploring legal options to bring these liars to justice.
