Modi Won’t Allow Indian Water to Go to Pakistan

It is largely believed that Modi is constantly giving controversial statements about India-Pakistan relations to hide his own failures.

By Rakesh Raman

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that his government will do everything it can, to give enough water to Indian farmers.

“Water that belongs to India cannot be allowed to go to Pakistan,” Modi said today during his Punjab visit. His reaction has come close on the heels of Pakistan’s warning that India cannot use water for coercion.

Earlier this week, a top Pakistani diplomat had called on the world community to ensure that international agreements on waterways, such as the 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, were not undermined through “unilateral or coercive measures.”

“Access to water is a fundamental right that must be protected at all times,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, told the Security Council, while warning against any use of water as an instrument of coercion and war.

[ Pakistan Warns India Against Using Water for Coercion ]

It is largely believed that Modi is constantly giving controversial statements about India-Pakistan relations to hide his own failures on all fronts during about 30 months of his rule in the country.

Today’s statement of Modi about water is supposed to divert people’s attention from the growing unrest in India. These days, Modi is facing a severe backlash from millions of local people against his cruel demonetization decision announced on November 8.

As dozens of people are dying because of Modi’s demonetization scheme, the opposition parties in Parliament have decided to observe November 28 as an All India Protest Day – Akrosh Divas.

Many observers in India believe that as a result of the growing public anger against Modi, his party BJP will lose the upcoming elections in five states of India and he also will lose the Lok Sabha election of 2019.

[ Modi’s Demonetization Killing People. All India Protests Planned ]

In order to win the voters’ support, Modi is playing with their emotions by showing his extreme hatred for Pakistan. While he has been hinting at a war with Pakistan, now he is trying to leverage water dispute in his favour.

However, Pakistan is trying to mobilize international support saying that even the UN supports the water treaty between the two countries.

Ambassador Lodhi of Pakistan stated Tuesday that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had also cited the 56-year-old treaty, which regulates the flow of six rivers between India and Pakistan, as an example of positive cooperation.

But it won’t move Modi who has little respect for humanitarian issues. It will be foolish for Pakistan to expect any compassion from Modi when people in India are suffering and dying because of his dictatorial policies.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a government award-winning journalist and social scientist. You also can visit the REAL VOTER – Politics in India Information Center that he manages.

Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau