PM should not fall hostage to local chieftans and visit CHOGM.
When Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa tabled a resolution to boycotting Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka, she was pressurising prime minister Manmohan Singh for making it official because of alleged violation of human rights of Tamils there.
Earlier this month, Jaya had written Singh a letter stating: “I wish to reiterate Tamil Nadu’s view that India should not participate in the CHOGM hosted by Sri Lanka at any level – titular, ministerial or official.
But the CHOGM strongly advocated that Singh visit Sri Lanka for the meet else, they threatened, India will be “isolated”.
Undoubtedly, CHOGM is an unwanted group which if not visited by the Indian PM will not change a dime. But caving in to Jayalalithaa’s demands also has some horrid consequences which will change the Indian foreign policies paradigm.
For starters, foreign policy will be seen hostage to regional pressures. We have seen that happen when Mamata Banerjee made a mockery of Prime Ministerial intent on the Teesta agreement with Bangladesh but without a legislative mandate. Ditto for Oomen Chandy who got New Delhi’s additional solicitor-general changed because the man wasn’t playing Kerala politics against Italian marines.
Second, to foster deeper economic ties with Mahinda Rajpakshe, it is imminent that we take part in the summit.
Last, but not the least, Kamlesh Sharma, an Indian mandarin heads the Commonwealth Secretariat. Last year, Singh personally endorsed a four-year extension for him. A Prime Ministerial cancellation will embarrass Sharma. And us too.
