These are the messages that External Affairs Minister S M Krishna delivered to his junior in the ministry Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday, when the latter turned up at his residence to explain why he went public with his opposition to the new visa rules of the country.
The Minister of State for External Affairs had in one of his recent posts on the social networking website Twitter, questioned if tightening the visa rules would actually enhance security of the nation.
He reminded that the terrorists who had carried out the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai had no visa, but yet they had been able to sail into the country’s western metropolis and carried out the carnage.
“The broad policy parameters are dictated, decided by the minister in-charge of external affairs of this country and everyone will have to fall on the same page,” Krishna later told journalists. Krishna said there could be different perceptions (among the minister and the ministers of states in a particular ministry of the government) on certain issues. But, he added, there is also a method and procedure to “sort out” those issues. “I am sure he (Tharoor) understands that,” he said.
Tharoor had tweeted on December 24 last: “My only role is to object to them (new visa rules). The MEA officials are discussing them with MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs), which imposed them.”
This had irked Krishna, who had on Monday publicly — albeit without directly referring to Tharoor — ticked off the minister of state for external affairs for airing his reservations about the new visa rules in public. “These (issues) are not to be discussed in public. If there are any perceptions, then I think it should be sorted out within the four walls of the ministry,” he had told journalists.
Krishna got the Congress backing in his tiff with Tharoor. “We have nothing to add after what the external affairs minister has said on this issue,” said All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.
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