India’s Ambassador to the United States, Ronan Sen, has made inappropriate remarks describing opponents of the India-US nuclear deal as “headless chickens”. This has ruffled feathers in Delhi. Members of Parliament are demanding that he be recalled for describing them as “headless chickens”. Ambassador Sen has denied that he was referring to MPs but his clarification hasn’t cut much ice. He is among the key architects of the nuclear deal and his input in the negotiations has been considerable. He is also a fine diplomat with a formidable record. It is therefore unfortunate that he finds himself in this soup today. However, the ambassador should have been more careful. Some of his former colleagues have pointed out that he is not a civil servant at present – Mr Sen is a retired diplomat, a political appointee of the government – and so, not bound by all its rules. But he is India’s representative abroad and any comment he makes, whether planned or off-the-cuff, at an official level or to ‘friends in the media’ is taken note of. He should have been more circumspect in what he said and should have exercised more caution. His remarks were not just tactless but irresponsible, unbecoming of a senior envoy of this country. He must be recalled.
Only a week ago, former defence minister George Fernandes made a rather tasteless comment related to the India-US nuclear deal that if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been a Chinese Prime Minister, Beijing would have “settled it with one bullet in his head”. The Opposition, which is now up in arms over Mr Sen’s irresponsible remarks, did not see it fit then to condemn Mr Fernandes for his outrageous comments.
There is no doubt that Ambassador Sen overstepped the line with his remarks. Parliament is right in pulling him up for his indiscretion. But the extended furore over the remarks is a bit excessive. Privilege motions have been moved, and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has promised to look into the matter and to take appropriate action if necessary. Our MPs have made their point. Now they need to move on while the process that has been set in motion takes its course. There are several other more pressing issues that require their attention and they would do well to attend to these.