Even as the Government of India said on Tuesday that a >U.N. Arbitration Tribunal’s ruling on the Italian Marines’ case> upheld the Supreme Court’s authority and Italian officials said it was a vindication of their position that India had no jurisdiction, the Congress on Tuesday trained its guns on the ruling BJP.
Party chief whip in the Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia told journalists that this was a “huge setback” for India. “The BJP-led NDA government is hand-in-glove with the Italian government,” Mr. Scindia alleged. The question that needed to be asked, he continued, was: “What was the quid pro quo that ensured the release of Italian marines?”
“The BJP talks of rashtrawad [nationalism], wants everyone to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ about upholding India’s sovereignty and respect on the world stage,” he said, asking, “How many cases has the government filed on behalf of Indian nationals in foreign jails at The Hague?”
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He also recalled a tweet that Narendra Modi posted before he became Prime Minister: on March 31, 2014, he had tweeted: “Italian marines mercilessly killed our fishermen. If Madam is so ‘patriotic’ can she tell us in which jail are the marines lodged in?”
Trade-off? To a question on whether Mr. Modi had indeed met his Italian counterpart, Mr. Scindia said, “We will place our views in the House.”
Pressed on whether the Congress suspected a trade-off with the Italian government (on the AgustaWestland case), he responded: “We have asked this question ourselves.”
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Earlier in the day, the government said the Supreme Court would take the final call on the marines case. Making a statement in Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India contested against Italy before the tribunal, and the issue of jurisdiction was yet to be established.
On Monday, the tribunal ruled that the Italian marine in Indian custody, Salvatore Girone, could return home soon. Massimiliano Latorre is back in Italy.