Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday accused the media of obsessively focussing on the sensational case of Sheena Bora’s murder and altogether skipping the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war victory against Pakistan. Mr. Parrikar, whose Ministry is in the eye of a controversy over the One Rank One Pension stalemate, however, steered clear of the raging issue at a public function held on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan in Panaji on Saturday.
“Such a grand celebration of the 50th anniversary of our victory, which started on Friday, did not feature for an hour when I watched television, while I was working. It was never even mentioned,” Mr. Parrikar said. He, however, conceded that he too was confused by the complexities of the alleged murder of Sheena Bora by her mother Indrani Mukherjea, a former public relations honcho.
“The murder mystery is definitely news, but that was the only thing playing (on TV) all the time,” said Mr. Parrikar, known for his media scrutiny during his days as Goa Chief Minister.
Recalling the television coverage of the 1965 war, Mr. Parrikar said Pakistan had then tried to take a psychological advantage of India’s loss of the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
“It was the first war after 1962, in which India was rattled, and many, including the Pakistan army and Ayub Khan, the head of the Pakistan army then, thought that the Indian defence sector may have been reeling under the effect of the 1962 China debacle and that they could occupy Kashmir,” he said, recalling with praise the role of then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, whom he described as “tiny in stature, but enormous in ability”.
