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    Won't allow fringe to derail India story

    Synopsis

    Elements out of sync - indeed, in contravention - with GoI's developmental and wealth-creating mission for India must be weeded out. This the BJP has attested on Sunday effectively.

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    The BJP's response on Sunday to two of its high-visibility and -volubility members guilty of making and disseminating Islamophobic remarks has been swift, effective and welcome. No attempts were made by the ruling party to defend the rabble-rousing packaged in the form of 'whataboutery' that has resulted in disturbances in Kanpur on Friday, and diplomatic protests from Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and the Saudi Arabia-based Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). The suspension and expulsion send out a firm and clear message that actions have - and will have - consequences. By describing the now-suspended party spokesperson and ex-BJP Delhi media head as 'fringe elements' in a statement put out by the ministry of external affairs (MEA), GoI, on its part, has underlined that India practises the religious tolerance it preaches, and deviations from such a position will not be tolerated.

    There is much riding on India's liberal democratic credentials and adherence to an international rules-based order. It cannot afford to have its vice-president visit Qatar in a bid to bolster bilateral trade at the same time motormouths ply their trade back home. In February, GoI rightly expounded its bragging rights after it signed India's first free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which targets to up bilateral trade in goods and services to over $100 billion and $15 billion, respectively. Apart from trade and investment, lakhs of Indian expatriates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries risk backlash when irresponsible elements play to the gallery here in India. To put it in more tangible terms, remittances from GCC countries amounted to $83 billion in pandemic-hit 2020. GoI knows that this avenue of much-needed revenues can't be jeopardised during post-Covid economic recovery.

    Elements out of sync - indeed, in contravention - with GoI's developmental and wealth-creating mission for India must be weeded out. This the BJP has attested on Sunday effectively.

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