The Congress on Friday promised to restore the status quo ante on borders with China and made it clear that engagement with Pakistan depends fundamentally on Islamabad’s willingness and ability to end cross-border terrorism.
In its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections released at the party headquarters, the Congress said it would work to repair India’s international image ”that has been damaged by the present government’s intolerance of dissent and suppression of human rights.”
The grand old party said it would pay greater attention to India’s immediate neighbours and reestablish the primacy of the country’s special relationships with Nepal and Bhutan and strengthen them.
”We will enhance economic and cultural relations between India and Bangladesh, which are the two most populous countries in South Asia. We will work with Sri Lanka to restore political and commercial relations between the two countries and help Sri Lanka resolve its political issues especially with the Tamils. We will repair relations with the Maldives and work with Myanmar to protect the political and human rights of the people of Myanmar,” the manifesto said.
The party said it recognises that national security is not enhanced by chest-thumping or exaggerated claims but by quiet attention to borders and resolute defence preparedness. ”There was a consensus on foreign policy since Independence. Unfortunately, in many areas, foreign policy under the BJP/NDA government has witnessed marked departures from this consensus, notably on the ongoing Gaza conflict. Congress pledges to restore India’s global reputation as a voice of peace and moderation in world affairs,” it added.
In a chapter on national security, the Congress party said the Chinese incursions in Ladakh and the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 represented the biggest setbacks to Indian national security in decades. ”On 19 June 2020, PM Narendra Modi gave a clean chit to China that considerably weakened our negotiating position. Despite 21 rounds of military level talks, Chinese troops continue to occupy Indian territory and deny Indian forces access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points, equivalent to an area of 2000 sq km in eastern Ladakh,” it said.
The party claimed that the absence of a formal National Security Strategy has led to ad hoc and personalised policy making. ”We will reverse the decline in defence expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure and will ensure that sufficient funds are allocated and spent to meet the requirements of the armed forces,” it added.
The party said it would put down with a firm hand hate speeches, hate crimes and communal conflicts. The party said it is strongly opposed to extra-judicial illegal measures like mob lynching, police encounter killings and bulldozer justice. ”We will stop them immediately and punish the perpetrators in accordance with law,” it said