Amid the geopolitical uncertainty after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, India cannot have any kind of diplomatic relations with a militant regime, believes GVL Narasimha Rao, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader.

India has reportedly spent $2 billion for infrastructure development in the war-torn nation over the years. Now with the hostile neighbours, Pakistan and China supporting the Taliban, India is closely watching the evolving situation.   
       
In a candid chat with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now, Narasimha Rao said India will continue to see what is best in its strategic and security interests and will evolve a policy and plan accordingly.

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“We can never have formal relations or cut with a …regime like Taliban which is a terrorist regime in my own words... we cannot accept any kind of diplomatic relations with a country like that .... but certainly with our own people living in Afghanistan and also have invested a lot of money in the development of Afghanistan … India will continue to see what is best in its strategic and security interests and will evolve a policy and plan accordingly,” said Narasimha Rao.

He was speaking during a live webcast as part of the Visionary Talk series organized by the public policy and governance analysis platform.  

Asked why the world cannot come together to put a stop to a suppressive rule and countries like China and Pakistan are willing to talk to the Taliban, the BJP spokesperson said, unfortunately China was the first country to come forward and give legitimacy to the Taliban even before the interim government was formed there.

“A few countries that look at narrow and short-term interest and countries that support the Taliban will also suffer consequences in the long run. But we hope an international consensus emerges which restrains the Taliban interim government from going berserk and will be compelled to conform to certain norms of international governance,” he said.

On international diplomacy, Narasimha Rao said, “Pakistan has been silenced …. They are today in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force and could possibly get blacklisted soon. We have not only succeeded in controlling terrorism domestically but also brought the issue to the international discussion table.”

He said with the emergence of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the issue acquires fresh significance and the government of India will certainly make it the top agenda at national and international levels to ensure that India’s borders remain completely safe and secure.
    
Speaking on issues of governance, the MP spelled out what he called major governance success stories of the BJP-led government and said massive legislative changes like the abolition of Article 370 , Triple Talaq and constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes have long-term consequences for India’s polity and growth.

Next, he said, the real development of the core of this country post-independence has only happened in the last seven years. “We have done saturated development. For people deprived of basic amenities like gas services and connections, bank accounts, and toilets at home, these were provided for the first time on war-footing and accomplished in the last seven years.”

Due to a completely, spotlessly clean and corruption-free government at the centre, people of the country gave a huge mandate to the BJP in 2019, despite allegations by the opposition.

Further, he said that with a zero-tolerance policy, the mainland has not seen a single terror attack though the country had seen a series of terrorist attacks during the UPA years (2004-14).

While speaking on the Indian economy, Narasimha Rao said it has rebounded faster than most other economies in the world and the country is well poised to achieve its the target of becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy well on time.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, the government has used the time to formulate and implement a series of reforms that stand in good stead. Automobiles and particularly infrastructure have seen 100 million dollars investments coming in, and both sectors reflect very good performance. He said core industries are showing a strong resurgence to galvanise India to grow faster than expected.