Will India remain stable, wonders Shiv Sena

Mumbai, Feb 23 (IANS) The Shiv Sena on Tuesday expressed concern over the stability of the country in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on Sunday that certain forces were trying to "defame and destabilise" his government.

"The governments come and go, but the country must remain stable," said Shiv Sena in an editorial titled 'Modi ki Vedna' (Modi's pain) in its mouthpiece 'Saamna'.

Modi is right in feeling besieged by problems created by treacherous Pakistan as well as "disgruntled NGOs and black-marketers," says the editorial.

It pointed out how the incidents of terror attacks seem to have suddenly increased after Modi's surprise visit in December to Pakistan to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

"Modi's intentions were honest and magnanimous towards a neighbour. But, our view is that Pakistan stabbed him in the back with the Pathankot terror strike," the Sena said, reiterating its earlier stance on the issue.

The party said the allegations by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan that the absconder mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar was present at the Modi-Sharif meeting and even the subsequent Pathankot attack are part of "a conspiracy to defame and destabilise" the government.

"Modi believed that his meeting with Sharif would silence the guns on the borders and end domestic extremism, but what has actually happened is contrary to his hopes," the Sena noted.

Close on the heels of the Pathankot strike, terror activities have suddenly increased in Jammu and Kashmir, and last month claimed the lives of 25 Indian soldiers and para-military troopers.

Almost daily, the coffins carrying bodies of our oldiers are being dispatched to different states in the country, which has incited anti-Pakistan sentiments among the people, the Sena noted.

There are other incidents like the homage paid to the executed terrorist Afzal Guru in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the violent Jat agitation for reservations, and the terror outfit Islamic State raising its flag in Kashmir and challenging the Modi government.

"We cannot tolerate all this... It is not just tarnishing the image of the Modi government, but the entire country. Who is behind all this and creating hurdles in the way of the government?" the Sena asked.

"In view of the recent developments, will the country remain stable?" the Sena wondered, adding it wished longevity and stability to the government.