Every body knows that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in general, and Lal Krishna Advani in particular, does not oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal in principle. If an identical deal was offered to NDA (National Democratic Alliance) when it was in power, BJP and it’s allies would have accepted the deal anytime. Then why this opposition? It is politics 101 as usual. Advani couldn’t help but take a dig at the Prime Minister during the no-confidence debate yesterday (July 22) that it is a payback time for Congress Party. He was absolutely right. The question is, does it help him in the current circumstances politically? This is where he and his party has made a big miscalculation. If Advani wants to be the next Prime Minister of India, he should have been much more magnanimous and above this petty squabble. Instead, he and his party appeared to be carrying Comrade Prakash Karat’s dirty diapers.
“NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday, ensuring the survival of the ruling coalition and a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.”
Did he really win the day? Not really! It does help India a bit at the moment, not to have early elections with high inflation and oil prices to deal with. Dr Manmohan Singh has got a small window to push the much needed reforms that the Left Parties were blocking all these years. If he fails to act now and that too not fast enough, he would miss an opportunity to leave a great legacy behind. He must seize the moment and show some backbone for a change. In the meantime, the Samajwadi Party (SP) that helped the government win the vote, is bound to extract a heavy price for their support. The question is how much is enough and what exactly is the price to be paid?
As far as the India-US nuclear deal is concerned, it is not a big deal either way. The deal is a covert NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in disguise. But in context, it does not mean much. The United States, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) are not in a position to push around a country like India anymore. As far as ‘Nuclear Energy’ is concerned, it does not account for much, everyone knows that. The deal at best is symbolic. India could beat it’s chest that it has been granted a ‘Nuclear Power Status’ by the international community. George W Bush and his European allies could wink at each other and pretend that they have been able to ‘TAG’ India finally. The fact of the matter is that if India ever has to test a ‘Nuclear Weapon’ again, it would do so no matter what.
Filed under: Indian Politics | Tagged: 'TAG' India, Bhartiya Janata Party, BJP, Civilian Nuclear Deal, Comrade Prakash Karat, Congress Party, Dr. Manmohan Singh, European Allies, George W Bush, IAEA, Indo-US Nuclear Deal, International Atomic Energy Agency, July 22nd 2008, Lal Krishna Advani, left-parties, National Democratic Alliance, NDA, New Delhi, NPT, NSG, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Nuclear Power Status, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Nuclear Weapon, Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Reuters, Ruling Coalition, Samajwadi Party, SP, United States, Vote of Confidence | Leave a comment »
THINK! 