On 12th February, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that the eight Indian Navy veterans who were sentenced to jail and later commuted to prison in Qatar were released. Seven out of eight veterans returned to India. Speaking to the media, they thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his personal intervention in the matter and the Government of India’s relentless efforts to bring them back home.
Amidst the delightful reports of the returns of Indian Navy veterans, old posts of Congress leaders and their lackeys have gone viral where they took a swing at the Government of India and PM Modi in the matter. Many such reactions came, especially after the Indian Navy veterans were sentenced to death in October 2023.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a lengthy statement on 6th April 2023 questioning the Government of India’s ‘inability’ to enable the return of the veterans. In a post on X, while sharing the statement, Jairam wrote, “Here is my statement on the continued detention of retired Indian Navy personnel in Qatar, a country with which Modani has a special relationship. Why has this relationship not helped the ex-servicemen so far?”
Here is my statement on the continued detention of retired Indian Navy personnel in Qatar a country with which Modani has a special relationship. Why has this relationship not helped the ex-servicemen so far? pic.twitter.com/JTtvnT3x8V
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 6, 2023
In the statement, he said, “Why is the Indian government still unable to either ascertain the facts of the case or to reassure the ex-naval personnel and their families that justice will be done? EAM Jaishankar has described this in Parliament as a “very sensitive case” and said that the detained individuals’ “interests are foremost in our minds… We assure you they are our priority”. Yet, while an Omani national who had been arrested along with the ex-Navy personnel was released in November, the Indian citizens remain in detention.
Is the Prime Minister reluctant to put pressure on Qatar because its sovereign wealth fund is a major investor in Adani Electricity Mumbai? Is that why the relatives of the imprisoned ex-naval personnel are running from pillar to post for answers? Given the time elapsed, the Congress party urges the government to explain to the families and the people of India why our ex-servicemen are being treated in this manner.” Congress leader found it an excellent chance to target PM Modi by linking the matter to business tycoon Adani.
While he had launched a personal attack on PM Modi and the Government of India in his April 2023 statement on the release of the Navy veterans, he issued a statement on behalf of the Congress party to express “happiness”. There was no word of thanks to PM Modi or the Government of India for the efforts to bring them back.
Interestingly, when the veterans were sentenced to death, the Congress party had “hoped” and “expected” that the “Govt of India would use its diplomatic and political leverage with the Qatar government to the maximum to ensure that the officers have full recourse to appeals and also do the utmost to get them released at the earliest.”
Now, as they have returned, no words from the party came to thank the central government. Possibly, they might be finding a way to blame PM Modi for the “delayed” release of the veterans so that it syncs with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There is a possibility that the grand old party claims that veterans could have been released earlier, but PM Modi delayed it to earn brownie points. After all, they questioned PM Modi on the surgical strike as well. Why not this?
In fact, The Wire already played this card long back! In November 2023, The Wire published an article authored by Rohit Khanna, who claimed that during Ramadan 2024(which starts in March), the veterans could be released, and it would be a “major diplomatic coup” right in the middle of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Khanna went ahead and gave “anticipated headlines” such as “PM Intervenes to Save The Lives of 8 Indian Ex-Naval Personnel” and “Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai: Qatar Emir Pardons 8 Ex-Indian Navy Personnel After PM Intervenes”. Khanna asserted that the Government of India was playing with the lives of the veterans and questioned if the gamble was worth it.
When the veterans were sentenced to death, one of the persons who “grinned” with a sarcastic post on X was Mohammed Zubair of Alt News. Not to forget, it was Zubair’s mischievous campaign against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma where Qatar issued a statement leading to diplomatic distress between the two nations. Zubair had hit out at PM Modi and pointed out that the Prime Minister had called “Qatar his second home”.
On 27th October, pro-Congress YouTuber Sakshi Joshi made a 10-minute video on the matter and called it “56-inch failure”. She is yet to issue any statement expressing happiness over the release.
On the same day, “journalist” Pragya Mishra released a video targeting PM Modi over the matter. She claimed that the government of India left the veterans to rot in Qatar prison. Just like Sakshi, Pragya has not released any new video on the matter following the release of the veterans.
Another journalist-turned-YouTuber, Ravish Kumar, also made a video targetting PM Modi and the Government of India over the matter. As expected, Kumar was yet to recover from the “shock” of the release of veterans and did not post any statement by the time this report was published.
Remember how Ravish criticised Modi Govt?
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 12, 2024
Today when Modi Govt ensured all Indians are released by Qatar, not a word from Ravish to appreciate PM Modi.
Full of Hate. https://t.co/46dRKSi67b pic.twitter.com/j5wRYce97W
When efforts are made in such matters via diplomatic channels, it is best to avoid giving statements to the media to ensure there is no contamination to the process. It was evident that the Indian Government was making efforts to expedite the release of the Indian Navy veterans. Diplomatic channels also have to ensure that they do not pressurise the Qatari authorities and allow the law of the land to take its due course. However, since the Opposition and their amplifier media believe in just blind rants against the Modi government without any reason or logic, it is not surprising how they behaved.
