By Shaiq Ali Khan for TwoCircles.net
If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself – Attributed to Hitler’s Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
A post, containing 17 points, has been doing the rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp explaining how Mr. Modi’s foreign trips have been benefiting India. I do not, usually, comment on political views but this post got me thinking. The post contains some highly improbable claims implying that Mr. Modi possesses a magic wand and has been able to achieve the impossible.
I tried doing some simple internet-based research and found that most of the claims in the post are either downright incorrect or at best the facts have been concocted beyond recognition.
Myth 1. – “BJP Govt. convinced Saudi Arabia not to charge “On-Time Delivery Premium charges” on Crude Oil – Young Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan & External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sealed the deal. Saved the country thousands of crores…”
Fact – There is no such charge! What the author is referring to is actually “Asian Premium” which is charged to high fuel guzzling Asian countries like India/Japan/China. A representation was indeed made by the Indian government but it has not yet resulted in these charges being dropped. Please refer to this news report http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/india-in-talks-to-save-rs-18k-cr-on-oil-imports/article1-1288411.aspx
Myth 2. – “India will build 4 Hydroelectric Power Stations + Dam in Bhutan (India will get lion’s share in Green energy that will be produced in future from these projects)
Fact – The truth is that traditionally almost all the commissioned Hydropower Dams in Bhutan have been built by India. Further, all the proposed projects were commissioned/proposed during the previous governments and no projects have yet been sanctioned with the help of the present Indian government. Please refer to this report for a list of commissioned as well proposed projects http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/8703
Myth 3. – “India will build biggest ever dam in Nepal (China was trying hard to get that) – India will get 83% Green energy produce from that power station for free – in future”
Fact – The present government has indeed signed 3 pacts, which were a culmination of long negotiations initiated during the previous governments. And obviously this energy will not come for free! Could not find a reference to any agreement stating free power. http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-nepal-ink-three-pacts-work-on-pancheshwar-dam-to-start-soon-608593
Myth 4. – “Increased relationship with Japan and they agreed to invest $30 billion in DMIC (Delhi – Mumbai Investment Corridor). That’s Rs 200,000 crores by today’s exchange rates… ”
Fact – The truth is that Japan had already been looking to invest in India and have now agreed to double the investment but not specifically in DMIC. The investment is envisaged to be in the form of Japanese public and private investments and loans to India over next 5 years. http://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-to-double-investment-in-india-within-5-years-1409569130
Myth 5. – “Increased strategic relationship with Vietnam and Vietnam has now agreed to give contract of Oil exploration to ONGC-Videsh (UPA was not ready to take this at all because they were worried about China – and getting into a conflict of interests on south China sea). The UPA has always been on the backfoot about every aspect of foreign policy”
Fact – The truth is that ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has had a presence in Vietnam since 1988. The agreement is to renew one of the blocks in the South China Sea. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eye-on-Dragon-Vietnam-renews-lease-of-Indian-oil-blocks-in-South-China-Sea/articleshow/40538262.cms and http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/ongc-videsh-to-acquire-stake-in-2-vietnamese-blocks/article6541721.ece
Myth 6. – “Increase Oil Imports from Iran, despite the ban by USA. Iran agreed to sell in Indian Rupees and it saved our Forex, not just for now, but protected India from future currency fluctuations. India also gets to built “Chahbahar” port of Iran, encircling Pakistan. Because we well have exclusive access to our Naval ships in this port..”
Fact – The truth is that UPA government, in 2013, reached an agreement with Iran to pay in Indian rupees following the SWIFT (inter Bank transfer system headquartered in Belgium) blockade of Iranian Banks. The present NDA government has nothing to do with this! http://www.oilandgasnewsworldwide.com/Article/35644/India,_Iran_governments_agree_on_rupee_oil_payments,_deals
As far as Chahbahar Port is concerned India has only signed an MOU and not a formal agreement. Not yet! This has been possible due to the provisional agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. And this port, if at all India does get to invest, will be built as a container facility and Indian naval ships will not have access to this port! http://www.dw.de/examining-the-implications-of-the-indo-iranian-chabahar-port-deal/a-18439937
I can go on rebutting each point raised in this post but I will leave it for another day. The author of the post mentions that India rescued 4500 nationals from Yemen with the active help of Mr. Modi and his able Ministers, even though most of those rescued were not even Hindus. I would like to remind him that the largest evacuation ever undertaken was during 1990 when 111,711 Indians were rescued from Kuwait/Iraq. No one had mentioned their religion at that time so why would he want to mention the religion of people rescued from Yemen?
Last, but not the least, the author claims that “Canada has approved Visa on arrival for all Indian tourists”. I always wanted to visit Canada and I would take this opportunity to visit. But if I get stopped at the border who should I contact? 🙂
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Shaiq Ali Khan is a banker based in UAE