Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Sunday demanded “transparency” and “accountability” from the Centre when questions are raised regarding the recent death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan valley near the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border.
In a statement, Mr. Haasan said that it was disrespectful to the Army to suggest that its morale would be shaken by a few pertinent questions put to the Central government by the Opposition and people .
“Our Army is a lot tougher than that. But their lives must not be taken for granted. We need to know what is being done to control China’s belligerence at the border,” said Mr. Haasan.
Arguing that the Centre must divulge what exactly happened at the Galwan valley so as to stop the spread of rumours, Mr. Haasan pointed out how Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on June 19 contradicted the statements of Army Officers and Minister of External Affairs made on June 16 and 17.
“The PMO also issued an explanatory statement within 10 hours of his speech terming the questions as a ‘mischievous’ attempt to misinterpret the PM’s statements,” Mr. Haasan said.
He said questions put to the government should not be termed as “anti-national” . “In fact, the mischief lies in continuing to emotionally manipulate people with such statements. I sincerely request the Prime Minister and his supporters to stop doing that. Millions of true nationalists like me are deeply pained by the soldiers’ deaths,” said Mr. Haasan.
“The right to ask questions is the base of democracy and we will continue asking till we hear the truth. The current Prime Minister has frequented China more times than any other Prime Minister since independence. The Mahabalipuram summit was claimed to be a diplomatic success. Merely eight months later, the Chinese stab us in the back by killing our unarmed soldiers. If that is the result of the government’s diplomacy, then either their strategy has failed miserably or they failed to read the intentions of the Chinese correctly.”