Mohammed Ataur Rahman on why the deepening ties with Israel are a matter of concern.

Weapon purchases are made to strengthen national defence, not merely to satisfy a whim. The Left’s objection to the Rs. 10,000 crore missile deal with Israel is, thus, perfectly understandable.

The Left, led by CPIM General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan, has expressed amazement at the government’s decision to go ahead with the deal despite Israel Aircraft Industries being investigated for bribery.

In a joint letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh they have pointed out the aforesaid Israeli company was still being investigated for using bribery to push the sale of Barak anti-ship missile system.

The deepening ties with Israel are a matter of concern in more than one way. Only recently the Maharashtra ATS had exposed the Israeli connection of Abhinav Bharat leaders who allegedly masterminded bomb attacks on mosques and on the Samjhauta Express train running between India and Pakistan.

The arrested ringleader of Abhinav Bharat terrorists told the investigators how he had visited Israel and got assurance of help from their military intelligence in their bid to sabotage the Indian state and form a government in exile in Israel.

By getting close to Israel we are setting ourselves up for such mischief.