As millions across the world dissect India's ongoing farmers' protest, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy took it upon himself to remind the Indian government that there are other crises beyond this. Over the last few weeks, the contentious farm laws and the protests have dominated news headlines and political discourse, even at the Parliament. As such, many other issues appear to have taken a backseat as the government takes steps to manage the situation.
Swamy however appears to believe this is problematic. In a tweet on Saturday morning, he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the ongoing border dispute with China.
"The Prime Minister ought to make a Statement in Parliament on the current position in Ladakh, post the Chinese illegal acquisition of Indian territory coming across the mutually agreed LAC," Swamy opined. The farmers' agitation, he added, should not take up "all our attention".
While not aimed at the Prime Minister per se, Swamy also made some oblique references to India's standing with foreign powers, urging the nation to learn how to "stand alone"
"In no war India had to fight, any foreign power came to our substantive help. Yet except 1962, Indian troops triumphed in the others. In 1971, USSR gave an impression of helping. But Russian leaders did not want us to liberate Dacca or smash West Pakistan forces," he tweeted.
When one user said that Prime Minister Modi was working on the same, Swamy had more to add. "Then ask MEA and NSA to stop crawling before US for compliments which are anyway not coming despite media spin," he responded.
Swamy has made no secret of his animosity for parts of his own party, hitting out at IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya and others for allegedly attacking him under the cloak of anonymity. "The BJP IT cell has gone rogue. Some of its members are putting out fake ID tweets to make personal attacks on me," Swamy had tweeted in September last year.
Now, as another Twitter user lauded his guidance, Swamy alleged that his efforts were not appreciated by the "lumpen elements in PMO and BJP IT Cell". "If these two are looking for a slanging match they should not hide behind fake IDs. I am ready since I give as good as I get," he added.
Interestingly, a day earlier, Swamy had suggested that Home Minister and former BJP chief Amit Shah had been against his involvement in the lengthy legal battle for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
