Arun Jaitley invokes Bond film 'Goldfinger' dialogue to attack govt on Italian marines issue

Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley today invoked a popular quote by James Bond to attack the government on the Italian marines issue.

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action," he quoted from the Bond novel Goldfinger.

Jaitley said Italy's action of not sending its marines back was like "enemy action" as it had repeated this the third time and India should forget "diplomatic niceties".

"Since we have been treated in this manner for the third time, I think, when we should forget diplomatic niceties," he said, adding "the Government of India must respond to and must be taken up in all its seriousness."

The BJP leader also suggested action against Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini, who had assured the Supreme Court that the marines facing trial for killing two Indian fishermen would return to India after voting in that country's national elections last month.

"Here is a country which has done this for the third time," he said, while referring to the earlier incidents when in 1980s in a defence transaction somebody absconded from India through Malaysia, Argentina and took refuge in Italy and the Italian government not handing over any documents in the recent VVIP helicopter deal to Indian officials investigating the case.

He also asked the Indian government to deal with Romans as Romans would deal and forget about diplomatic niceties.

"After these three experiences, now a time has come that when you deal with the Romans, deal as the Romans would deal, and, therefore, when they have broken every rule of diplomacy, it is the time for the Government of India to act and not to say that we are now bound by conventions of diplomacy," he said.

He also referred to the incident as an "extreme case where there is a case of a state sponsored deception".

Jaitley said Italy had "broken every rule of democracy" and its action was comparable to "state-sponsored terrorism".

"We have heard of State sponsored terrorisms, but this act by a democratic country, which ostensibly claims to be committed to the rule of law, seems to be the first such case of a State-sponsored deception and a State sponsored abduction.

"It is a State-sponsored abduction because they approached the Supreme Court of India ostensibly on the pretext first that the two persons being prosecuted had to go their homes to celebrate Christmas," Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha.

He asked the Law Minister to examine the post- constitutional treaties, including the Vienna convention, which cannot overwrite the constitution of the country, whether the Ambassador, who has given a sovereign undertaking on behalf of the Government of Italy is entitled to the benefit of 'diplomatic privilege'.

"He submitted to the jurisdiction of the Indian Supreme Court. Once you submit to the jurisdiction, you can’t claim diplomatic privileges," he said.