 "How Narendra Modi thinks")
The day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan by the President of India to form a Council of Ministers and indicate a date for the swearing in, was the day he first mentioned what he really wanted to do.
'As this will be a function that the Rashtrapati Bhavan will host, I had an idea I wanted to discuss with you' he started hesitatingly after the pleasantries had been exchanged with the President Pranab Mukherjee.'I want to invite SAARC presidents and prime ministers for my oath-taking'.
The President was delighted and backed the idea wholeheartedly.He did however sound one note of caution. 'the foremost thing is the security of all these leaders.So you should talk it over with the Home Secretary',he advised.
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That night at 11 PM former Foreign Service officer KC Singh tweeted that Modi wanted Saarc leaders at his swearing in. He added that AK Doval would liaise. This was the first indication that Doval, now National Security Advisor, would be occupying an importnt post in government may be that very post.
The next morning, Home Secretary Anil Goswami was summoned to Gujarat Bhavan. Simultaenously, Saarc heads of mission in Delhi got a letter from Doval asking if their head of government would be available to come to Delhi – a formal invitation would follow.
The heads of mission got back: they said the invitation had to be routed through the Ministry of External Affairs. It was only now that the mandarins in South Block came into the picture. Sujatha Singh was asked to draft letters of invitation.
The attack on the Indian consulate in Herat was overlooked. Now we know why the attack was planned just then. The CIA says it was should have taken place later but it was advanced because the Taliban (the ISI ?) thought the best case scenario would be to take a couple of Indians hostage and stall Modi's swearing in – it would have ensured the eyes of the world would have been on the Taliban.
The short point of this long story is that invitations to Saarc heads of government was an entirely political idea, the brainchild of Narendra Modi, but though it went off without a hitch, the beady eyes of assorted villains are fixed on New Delhi.