Kerala - Alappuzha   

‘Guard against war hysteria’

ALAPPUZHA: State Planning Board vice-chairman Prabhat Patnaik has called for a vigil against covert attempts, particularly by right wing forces, to exploit the anger of the people against terrorism and make them react in an extreme manner.

He was inaugurating the district conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) at Mavelikara here on Saturday.

Mr. Patnaik said attempts were on to push the country towards imperialism and an unnecessary conflict with Pakistan and throttle democratic rights. Any extreme reaction such as an attack on Pakistan would mean that the terrorists had achieved their objective, he said.

There were certain quarters, including celebrities and the media, that had called for a ‘carpet bombing’ of Pakistan immediately after the Mumbai terror attacks.

However, it should be kept in mind that Pakistan was in a very delicate stage of democratic revival following popular pressure.

Any offensive action at this stage would destroy Pakistan’s democratic experiment and the democratic government there would become prisoners of the military.

More significantly, such acts would help the terrorists currently operating from Pakistan to have a better field day in acquiring popular sympathy and using that against India, he said.

Mr. Patnaik also cautioned those who had made it a fashion to debunk politicians after the Mumbai terror attacks.

Politicians were part of democracy and if their quality was not up to the mark, talented people should join politics.

However, to debunk them would be to debunk the political process and devalue democracy, he said.

DYFI State president M.B. Rajesh, State secretary T.V. Rajesh and district president H. Salam were among those addressed the gathering.

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‘Guard against war hysteria’

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