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Open Letter to Prime Minister of India Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

21 years back, I rode my bicycle for 8 miles to attend an election rally in a town in Jammu & Kashmir. And I rode my bicycle for 8 miles only for one reason. That was to listen to THE BEST orator living in India at that time. That orator was not only THE BEST orator but was also one of the highly respected nationalist leaders in India. So I did not think twice about making the extra effort to listen to this GREAT leader. And I was not at all disappointed. That rally and that lecture were my first educational class to understand what Indian Nationalism and Love for One’s Country meant. It gave me immense hope that not all is lost in India. In very simple terms, I was hooked. I was so impressed by this leader that he instantly became MY HERO. And continued to be my HERO for many many years. He was the ONLY ONE who I would trust. He was the ONLY ONE on whose directive; I would even give my life for my India.

At that time, this leader used to sit in opposition benches in Lok Sabha. I prayed, prayed and prayed for this leader’s and his party’s victory in elections so that one day he could lead my nation. Finally God listened to my prayers. This HERO of mine got elected to the most coveted office of Prime Minister of India. I was thrilled. I knew India had made a right choice. I knew this leader was destined to take India to new heights. I was excited about the future of India. I dreamt about the prosperous, secure and independent India, where I could truly be a free citizen. I dreamt of India where I could exercise my rights of freedom of expression and freedom to practice my own religion. I dreamt of a peaceful India where men, women, children, old, young, everybody could feel totally secure. Finally, I felt that now that my HERO was in Prime Minister’s Office, all my dreams about my GREAT India were going to come to fruition very soon.

And Mr. Prime Minister, did I tell you who that leader was? It was none other than the present Prime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Yes Mr. Prime Minister that is you.

But that was back then. That was back when you first entered the Prime Minister’s office. Back then, I had put all my trust in my HERO who had promised me progress, security, true freedom. Back then, I was very hopeful that after half a century of misrule by a single dynasty, things in India would change for better.

Unfortunately, after four years, there is only one achievement which I can attribute to your rule. And that is making India a Nuclear State. And I salute you for that. However, all yours other promises made to me and the Indian people are yet to be fulfilled. You promised abrogating Article 370 but have since shelved that item. You promised implementing Uniform Civil Code and getting rid of specific religious laws like Muslim Personal Law. You shelved that too. You promised election reforms. You shelved that too. Mr. Prime Minister, your argument of working on the NDA agenda and deferring implementation of BJP agenda is losing its meaning. I sincerely believe it is more of an excuse for inaction than a valid justification. If I remember correctly, going nuclear was not on NDA’s agenda either. That was exclusively a BJP’s agenda item and you implemented that. How come you were able to take on that agenda item and for all other items, you tend to pull out the NDA agenda excuse?

And now let us come to the major issue of tackling terrorism. How long are we going to fool ourselves and not accept the fact that India is being targeted by vicious Islamic Terrorism? How long? It was the same Islamic Terrorism that forced me to flee from my home in Kashmir and run for my life. It is the same Islamic Terrorism that is the root cause of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs in Jammu & Kashmir. It is the same Islamic Terrorism that has forced 500,000 Kashmir Hindus to live like refugees in their own country. It is the same Islamic Terrorism that is perpetrating terror and mayhem all around India. Then why are we beating around the bush and taking half-hearted steps to deal with this menace? Let us accept the fact that this is an Islamic problem. And then deal with it like that. Let us not get into the game of appeasing Islamists. Let us not forget that we have divided our country once and that division was purely based on the religion. At the time of partition, we gave these Islamists their share of the pie. Let us not let our country get divided again. This menace needs to be tackled and tackled NOW. Any delay in rooting it will come back and haunt our future generations.

You as a democratically elected leader of the country have a moral obligation to look after the interests of India. You as a leader have to lead by an example. And if you do that I can assure you that rest of the India will follow you. But if you don’t, then I am afraid that the Indian electorate will give their verdict in the next election and that might not be favorable to you.

It hurts me when some analysts talk about Congressization of Bharatiya Janata Party. But unfortunately, I can not criticize them, because what they are saying is true. Lately, it has become very difficult for me to distinguish between Congress and BJP. Both seem to be more worried about politics than the country and the concerns facing Indian citizens. Wasn’t BJP a party with a difference? Wasn’t BJP a party with moral values and discipline? Then what happened, Mr. Prime Minister? I am at loss. Please help me understand this sudden Congressization of BJP. Is BJP proving that power corrupts? I always thought power corrupts only weak people. I always had this notion that leaders from BJP were strong people. Then Mr. Prime Minister, what exactly happened here?

Mr. Prime Minister, please give me my HERO back. Please give me the Vajpayee of 70's back. Please return me my inspiring leader. As you very well know, our India is currently at crossroads. It needs a dynamic and strong leader. It needs a leader who will not be afraid to take risks to strengthen India and protect her integrity, freedom and sovereignty. We need a leader who will raise India's stature in the new millennium. We need a leader who will not be afraid to stick his neck out for the betterment of his country. Mr. Prime Minister, when would you be that leader? When would you be my old HERO?

Kindest Regards,
Lalit Koul

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