Hidnutva Deal: Marriage Ends, Copulation Continues
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 19
Palash Biswas
G-8 backs Indo-US civil nuclear deal
Toyako (Japan), Jul 9 (PTI) In a major breakthrough for the troubled
Indo-US nuclear deal, the powerful group of eight (G-8)
industrialised countries today decided to adopt a "more robust"
approach to civil nuclear cooperation with India to help meet its
growing energy needs.
"We look forward to working with India, the International Atomic
Energy Agency, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other partners to
advance India's non-proliferation commitments and progress so as to
facilitate a more robust approach to civil nuclear cooperation with
India to help it meet its growing energy needs in a manner that
enhances and reinforces the global non-proliferation regime," the
Chair's Summary released at the end of the G-8 summit said here.
The statement came hours after US President George W Bush met Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh here on the sidelines of the G-8 summit.
The G-8 is made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia and the United States. PTI
Indo-US nuclear deal gets `kiss of life'!With the Indo-US nuclear
deal getting a fresh lease of life, there is a renewed sense of hope
among those in the United States who support the deal.It is also a
life line for MNCs reigning Indian Economy and Recession clad US War
Economy.
It is like a case of individual trapped in tradition.
The Marriage ends, but Copulation continues!
It is more surprising that the Marxists plead Chinese leadership for
the third world countries but contrarily China supports the Indo US
deal ensuring a Global communist Betrayal! It is ironical that the
unexpected support from the Communist neighbour came on a day when
the government's Communist partners decided to withdraw support.!
On a day when its Left partners withdrew support, the Indian
government has received backing from unexpected quarters on the Indo-
US nuclear deal.
The Foreign Secretary said on Tuesday that China has expressed its
willingness to support the nuclear deal. The development came after
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier
this morning in Japan, where he is due to attend the G8 meeting.
China is believed to have expressed its willingness to help India in
getting the nuclear deal through the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers
Group.
The Indian government is planning to pursue several defence deals
with the United States and Israel following the Left parties'
withdrawal from the government. Sources within the government said
that various deals had not been completed with both these countries
due to the strong opposition presented by the Left parties. They said
that as soon as the news of the Left's withdrawal was made public,
Defence Minister AK Antony ordered several steps to ensure that the
pending defence deals with US companies were completed promptly.
Making a strong case before the business community for the
operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Atomic Energy
Commission Chief Anil Kakodkar on Wednesday (July 9) said that Indian
nuclear arena is mature enough to take on world industry.
"Current research on nuclear domain in India and even strategic
aspect will not be affected," Kakodkar said while addressing the
business community on 'Indo-US nuclear deal -Advantage India' at
Indian Merchants' Chamber in Mumbai.
"There need be no fear of civil nuclear deal and Indian nuclear arena
is mature enough to take on world industry," he said.
As it is finalised that the Indo US Nuclear deal is being
operationalised whatever comes in way, the Indian Great Comrades have
chosen to inaugurate an anti imperialist Movement in India. They
never did do anything to defend the Indigenous people and did every
thing to divert Trade unions in Economism to create a Gestapo to
strengthen its Vote machine killing all the peasant Movements
including Telengana,Srikaukul
The Marxists failed to launch an anti Imperialist movement since way
back in 1991 with the plantation of Dr Manmohan Singh in Indian Power
Politics. They were glad to make an alliance of Super Betrayer Pranab
Mukherjee all these years. They never resisted a populist movement
against Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation!
The perfect Comrador, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh ably supported
by Mukherjee and Gang defeated all the Rivals including Left and
Right in a Rat Race of Americanisation!
Marxists withdrew support and they happen to be more than ready to
support Congress once again after the deal is signed. As
Ideologically they have to oppose US Imperialism. at the same time,
again Ideologically they have to resist Fascist Hindutva. It won`t be
quite unfair that after afresh Elections, the Marxists would have to
return to the same secular Front to stop RSS. Thus, they did not
withdraw the support all these years and allowed every repressive
measures and helped Neo Liberalism and Globalisation change the
character of the Nation. The Nation lost sovereignty. Indigenous
Production system devastated. Indigenous People killed everywhere
every time. But Ideological Commitment stopped him to identify Neo
Liberalism and Globalisation with Corporate Imperialism. It is once
agin the case of Ideology that reversing rural development and Land
reform agenda, the Marxists had to run on the Super Highway of
Marxist Capitalist development and executing the indiscriminate land
acquisition for Urbanisation, industrialisation, Nuclear Plant and
Chemical hub and finally SEZ. It was once again the case of Ideology
in Singur and in Nandigram!
What an Ideology!
Fuck it!
It has nothing to do with any Ideology in this Galaxy!
It has never been an epic story of Personality Clash!
It has never been a case of so called National Interests!
It has never been a Parliamentary affair.
It is all the way a a deal for Hindu Zionist White Strategic
Readjustment to implement the Agenda of the Global Ruling Class in
the best Interest of Post Modern Apartheid Manusmriti .
Galaxy order led by US Corporate War monger Imperialism.
It is a classic case of Eye Washing to dodge the popular public
opinion and democratic set up limited by the Majoritarian electoral
system.
It is word by word an implementation of Parliamentary soap opera
script.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that the Group of Eight's
statement on climate change, food security and development provided
an "initial direction" but that quicker international action was
needed on these issues.
Referring to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement
that the text of the IAEA draft was ''classified'
would like to know who has declared it classified.
We would like to know whether it is the government's decision to ask
the IAEA to keep it classified.'
In this context, he said a protocol, which the United States was
currently discussing with the IAEA, had been made available to all
members of the US Congress and was available on the internet for
anyone to access.
The Left has accused the Manmohan Singh government of pushing forward
the "notorious" nuke deal in its bid to fulfil its commitment to US
President Bush.The Left said the government has shown complete
callousness towards fulfilling its commitments to the people of
India. Addressing the media after a meeting with President Pratibha
Patil, CPM chief Prakash Karat said the government had not been
transparent about the deal at all.The Congress Working Committee will
meet on July 11 to discuss the ongoing political crisis, following
the withdrawal of support by the Left parties.
Minutes after the Left formally withdrew support to the UPA
government, Samajwadi Party on Wednesday submitted a fresh letter to
President Pratibha Patil backing the Manmohan Singh ministry.
CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the Left parties
will continue their fight against the ''notorious'
also said that there are reasons other than the nuclear deal for
withdrawing support to the UPA.
Supported by his counterparts of CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, Karat
said the government had plunged the country into a political crisis
when people were groaning under price rise and a double-digit
inflation.Maintaini
sought five urgent steps to tackle the burgeoning prices, he said all
the demands were rejected by the government.
And here you are!
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday appreciated the
support of the Left parties to keep the communal forces at bay, but
the Congress attacked the Marxists, accusing them of having joined
the communal forces to destabilise the country.
"I am not entering into any acrimony. We appreciate the support the
Left parties extended to us for four long years to keep at bay the
communal forces. We do believe that to keep the communal forces at
bay, cooperation among all secular parties is needed," said Mr
Mukherjee, also the Leader of the Lok Sabha, implying thereby that
the Congress might have to do business with the Communists again
after the next elections.
"I do not indulge in sharing confidence or in a numbers game. I have
already stated that we are going to seek the vote of confidence," he
said when asked how confident the government was about winning the
trust vote.
But AICC media department chairman M. Veerappa Moily said, "They
(Left) have betrayed the interests of the nation and joined communal
forces to destabilise the country. They cannot afford to insult the
nation." He said even if there was no nuclear deal, they would have
withdrawn support. Asked if the Left was "secular", Mr Moily said it
was for them to explain.
Mr Moily came down heavily on the Left for the timing chosen to
withdraw support. "When the entire country is mourning the death of
diplomats and other people in Afghanistan, they found the time to
rejoice and withdraw support," he said, adding, "People of the
country will remember it."
And enjoy this dramatic appearance!
An angry Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash
Karat addressed the media after submitting the withdrawal letter to
President Pratibha Patil.
Karat was at his combative best as he attacked the United Progressive
Alliance Government of policy shortcomings and blamed it of being non-
transparent about the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal.
He demanded that the draft Safeguards Agreement be made public and
added that the Left would take every step possible to block the Indo-
US Civil Nuclear Deal.
"Our nuclear reactors will be placed under safeguards in perpetuity.
That text has been hidden from our people. It is an insult to the
Left," Karat said.
"At all stages of this notorious nuclear deal, Manmohan Singh
government has not been transparent and this country won't accept
this deal till all issues which we opposition and large sections of
the people have raised are clarified," he said.
With the Left withdrawing support to the government, several
Independent parliamentarians and single-MP parties have favoured the
Indo-US nuclear deal and may back the Manmohan Singh ministry in a
possible trust vote in the Lok Sabha.
Though critical of the functioning of Congress party at the regional
levels, the parliamentarians feel that the nuke deal is in the
country's interest.
Just see the mood of the Shining Sensex India!
The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 231 points at 13,581 on the
back of positive cues from the global markets. Unabated buying
through the day helped the index extend gains as the day progressed.
The Sensex rallied to a high of 13,998, and finally ended with a
smart gain of 615 points (4.6%) at 13,964.
Reliance Infrastructure zoomed 10.7% to Rs 835, and Jaiprakash
Associates soared 10% to Rs 173.
Tata Motors rallied 7.5% to Rs 405. ITC surged 6.8% to Rs 184.
Reliance Communications and TCS advanced around 6% each to Rs 441 and
Rs 876, respectively. HDFC Bank added 5.7% to Rs 1,059.
BHEL, Reliance, Bharti and Infosys gained 5% each at Rs 1,575, Rs
2,080, Rs 747 and Rs 1,821, respectively.
Grasim, DLF, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro, also, have moved up
nearly 5% each to Rs 1,752, Rs 450, Rs 622 and Rs 2,513, respectively.
NTPC has added 4.3% to Rs 168. HDFC and Tata Steel were up over 4%
each at Rs 2,095 and Rs 678, respectively.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Ambuja Cements, Maruti and Wipro gained around
3.5% each at Rs 534, Rs 77, Rs 589 and Rs 434, respectively.
Satyam, Hindustan Unilever and SBI were up around 3% each at Rs 482,
Rs 216 and Rs 1,239, respectively.
The NDA constituents led by BJP met at party leader L K Advani's
residence on Wednesday evening to decide its future course of
action.Following the meeting, the NDA demanded that the government
should be asked to prove its majority within a week. It also decided
to approach President Pratibha Patil in case the trust vote doesn't
take place soon.
It also demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened at
the earliest.
"There was some confusion in the public mindset because of certain
political differences between the UPA and the Samajwadi Party during
the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. To clear those doubts,
we have met the President to reiterate the support of Samajwadi Party
in favour of UPA government," SP General Secretary Amar Singh told
reporters after handing over the letter to Patil.
Samajwadi MP Ram Gopal Verma accompanied Amar Singh to the
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"We have reiterated our earlier stand and support which were given in
favour of the Congress-led UPA Government," Singh said.
Asked whether the list of names given to the President had names of
all the 39 Samajwadi MPs, he said, "Names of parliamentarians, who
fought under the SP symbol are there in the letter and they are bound
by the party whip."
Singh said rebel Samajwadi MPs Beni Prasad Verma and Atiq Ahmed have
also promised their support.
"I just spoke to Beni Prasad Yadav and he has expressed his support
as well as that of Atiq Ahmed," he added.
Apart from this, Independent MP Baleshwar Yadav will also support the
Government, Singh said.
Earlier, the BJP alleged the timing of Left parties' withdrawal of
support to the government was "suspicious" as they waited till the
Congress clinched a deal with the Samajwadi Party to save the ruling
dispensation.
"The timing is suspicious. Were they waiting for the Samajwadi Party
to cosy up with the Congress? One thing is sure that the Left were
waiting for an opportune time, so that the government does not fall,"
BJP spokesperson Rajeev Pratap Rudy told reporters here.
The saffron party alleged a "private deal" between the SP and the
Congress, which the Left has "facilitated"
"The private deal between the SP and the Congress needs to be made
clear by the govt. It is managed more or less by the Left parties who
are the patrons of UNPA.
Nothing have changed since middle of 2007 then the Left's opposition
to the deal begun. It was all a ploy to ensure the government sails
through. The nation knows that the government's tenure has virtually
ended. The country is waiting for a change," he added.
The political parties of the Ruling Brahminical Hegemony have nothing
against the Nuclear deal or the strategic relations with United
states of America. In fact, the deal being a deal for Resurrection of
Hindutva confirms the Brahminical interests all the way heralding a
dreamland of Super Power Nuclear Hindu Nation!
Indira Gandhi worked for it.
Atal Behari Vajpayee followed suit. The height was the appointment of
APJ Abdul Kalam, the Missile man as the President of India.
Feudal Socialist Oxides and Zionist Gandhian Carbides stand united
rock solid in favour of the Hindutva deal. Quite amusingly, Pro
American Zionist Sangh Parivar leads the Opposition including the
Communists. In the Parliament all these political parties with all
the bastard ideologies stand united to pass anti people legislation
and use the forces of State Power for the all out annihilation
campaign against the indigenous aboriginal communities. But they pose
as artists so fine playing gladiators against one another. You may
not find a single MP or MLA who voices against the anti people
measures, violations of Human Rights and civil rights, massacres and
cruelest repression.
Hindutva played a great role to divide the Geopolitics.
Zionist Gandhi and his brigade including the socialists and
communists secured State Power for the three percent Brahmins. They
captured all the forums. They enslaved all the Ideologies. They
diluted all the dreams of liberation. They crushed all Insurrections.
All of them Contributed to the Grand Reality show of Shining Sensex
super power Hindu Nation!
Pdt Nehru ensured Sixty Five percent Congress Tickets for the three
percent Brahmins.
Indira Gandhi played the card of Bangladesh Liberation as the most
affirmative HindUtav Festival which ensured land slide victory for
her in 1971 Mid Term elections demolishing the after effects of the
Non congress experiments of 1967 General Elections. She wiped out
the Marxist Communist Socialist identities with her Hindu version of
Socialism and soviet Model of development. She tried it agian with an
alliance with the Sarvodaya and CPI declaring Emergency. She failed.
Indira Gandhi tried her best to revoke Hindutva with Operation Blue
Star which turned out to be an Unforgettable Holocaust for the Sikh
Nationality after 37 years of another disaster, the Holocaust of
partition with an Assassination of the Greatest Hindu Leader of
Indian history and she was none but Mrs Indira Gandhi. At this
juncture, RSS joined Congress. The Age Old God Rama was invoked to
replace the Incarnation of Durga. Arun Nehru opened the doors of Ram
Janma Bhoomi Temple which resulted the ultimate demolition of Babri
Mosque and Unquestionable Rise of Hindutva.
The Socialists and the Communists posing as the most creditable
crusaders against Fascist Hindutva did run a coalition in 1977 and in
1989.
Once again, the Marxists are aligned with the RSS to kill the Deal in
a super hit Reality Show live casted round the clock.
Anyone would know that it is the RSS which is most interested to
operationalise the Nuclear Deal.
In fact, every parliamentary political party favours the deal but
they are avoiding the responsibility to operationalise the deal.
Why?
In a clear indication that the parting is complete and a lot of dirty
linen would be washed in public in the days to come, Karat said that
the Left will release all the exchanges between them and the
government over the nuclear deal issues. Adding that he is unable to
make available two more notes as this "secretive" government took
them back.
In a detailed account of why they were forced to withdraw support,
Karat said the UPA and the Congress have violated the agreement that
they had with the left on the nuke deal.
They had made a commitment on November 16, 2007, that they would talk
to the IAEA, and based on the discussions there, would present a
paper to the UPA-Left joint committee, which would then be examined,
and only then the next steps would be taken. However, the convenor of
the nuclear deal sub committee, Pranab Mukherjee, told them that they
could not do so as the papers were classified.
He demanded to know who had termed the papers classified and whether
it was the UPA govt, or the IAEA.
Asserting that the text of the nuclear agreement is going to bind us
in perpetuity over safeguards, he took another swipe at Manmohan
Singh and his love for the USA.
"The Congress leadership and Dr Manmohan Singh always look up to the
USA, but there are some good things they should learn from the USA,"
he said, before delving into the latest US move to place before the
Congress some additional protocols that US wants for its own nuclear
deal with IAEA.
Saying that these documents are available to be viewed by anyone on
the internet, he wondered how Congress can now say that IAEA wants
these documents to be termed as classified. "Are we to believe that
the IAEA has one standard for the US and another for us," he asked,
adding that "no text can be classified unless the government itself
wants it to be termed so".
He demanded that the text be made public as the country's nuclear
scientists, experts and the people have a right to know what it
contains.
SP submits letter of support, claims backing of all its 39 MPs
Samajwadi Party on Wednesday claimed that its decision to support the
UPA government on Indo-US nuclear deal had the backing of all its 39
MPs who had fought the previous Lok Sabha elections on party symbol.
SP General Secretary Amar Singh submitted the party's letter of
support for the UPA government to President Pratibha Patil and later
told reporters that "names of all the MPs who had won by fighting on
party's symbol during last general elections are there in the list.
They all are bound by the party's whip on the issue."
Singh, who along with SP Parliamentary Party's leader Ram Gopal Yadav
had met the President, said that apart from the 39 MPs, independent
MP from Padrauna Baleshwar Yadav is also with the party on the issue
of support. "Baleshwar Yadav is basically of Samajwadi Party origin,"
Singh said.
The SP General Secretary said that he also spoke to estranged party
leader Beni Prasad Verma earlier in the day. "Verma assured us of his
support and also said that Ateeq Ahmad too would be supporting the
party."
Verma was elected as MP from Kaiserganj on SP ticket but had fought
last year's UP assembly elections on his own party Samajwadi Kranti
Dal's ticket against the SP.
While Ateeq Ahmad had won the 2004 general elections from Phulpur on
SP's ticket but was expelled from the party earlier this year after
his arrest.
However, the party could face problems from two of its MPs --
Munawwar Hasan and Jai Prakash Rawat.
IAEA step only after winning trust vote: Pranab
The United Progressive Alliance government will press on with the
implementation of the civilian nuclear deal with the United States
only after winning a vote of confidence in Parliament, External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Tuesday.
At a press conference here hours after four Left parties announced
withdrawal of support to the UPA, Mr. Mukherjee said the government
would take a decision on convening a special session of Parliament as
soon as they received a formal communication from the Rashtrapati
Bhavan asking them to prove their majority.
Though official sources indicated that the vote could be held as
early as July 21, the Minister would only say that the special
sitting would be called sometime before August 11, when the monsoon
session is due to begin.
Mr. Mukherjee said the government would send India's draft safeguards
agreement to the International Atomic Energy Agency Board for
approval only if it won the trust vote in Parliament. "I cannot bind
the government if we lose our majority," he said.
Were it to lose the vote, the government would continue in
a "technical" capacity until elections but would not have the moral
authority to "bind" the country to "an international agreement."
Asked whether he was confident the government had the requisite
numbers in Parliament, he said the "taste of the pudding is in the
eating" and that he did not "indulge in the sharing of confidences or
the numbers game." Everything would become clear when the trust vote
was held in the Lok Sabha.
On the Left's charge that the government did not show the text of the
safeguards agreement to the UPA-Left committee, he said the "outcome
of the negotiations" with the IAEA was shared in the form of a
summary of the safeguards draft. "But we could not share the actual
text as it is a classified document between India and the IAEA."
The IAEA Secretariat told India that the document could not be shared
with others without first being circulated to the agency's 35 board
members. That could not be done without India first signing it.
Notwithstanding this, the government had shown summaries of the
relevant provisions dealing with concerns such as fuel supply
assurances raised by the Left.
Mr. Mukherjee said he only wished to set the record straight. "I am
not entering into any acrimony [with the Left]. We appreciate the
support they gave us for four years to keep at bay the communal
forces."
No threat to UPA govt, will win trust vote: Lalu
The Left's withdrawal of support to the UPA government
notwithstanding, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Wednesday, exuded
confidence that the government will win the trial of strength in
Parliament.
"The government is safe....If it were not so, I would not be in
Patna....Everything has been arranged for (victory) and the Manmohan
Singh government will prove its majority in the House despite the
best efforts of the Opposition to pull it down," a relaxed Lalu said
addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 7th regional office of
CBSE here.
"The UPA government will last its full term and elections will be
held on time in April. People will give a befitting reply to the
communal forces trying to grab power through back door," Lalu, whose
RJD with 24 MPs in the Lok Sabha is the largest non-Congress UPA
constituent in the House, said.
Lalu, keen on avoiding burning bridges with the Communists, said
RJD's relations with them would be "as smooth and cordial as ever."
"Char saal pehle hamein tumse pyaar tha, aaj bhi hai aur kal bhi
rahega," (we were in love four years ago, and so we will be today and
tomorrow), he said.
N-deal vital for India and US: Bush
9 Jul 2008, 0950 hrs IST,PTI
TOYAKO: Unfazed by the political turmoil in India, a confident Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday discussed "progress" on the Indo-
US nuclear agreement with President George W Bush. The US president
said the deal is important for both the countries and heaped praise
on Singh "for his leadership at home". ( Watch )
The two leaders spoke in unison on strengthening the
bilateral "strategic relationship" as Singh took a two-hour drive
from Sapporo to meet Bush in the hot springs resort of Hotel Windsor
on Mt Poromoi on the sidelines of the G-8 summit. The two leaders met
hours before the Left parties were to formally withdraw support to
the UPA government on the nuclear deal.
"Our relationship with the United States has never been in such good
shape as it is today.... And it is the intention of my government..
whether it is a question of climate change... global economy, India
and US must stand tall, stand shoulder to shoulder, and that's what
is going to happen," Singh said after the 50-minute meeting that
stretched beyond the scheduled time.
Both Singh and Bush expressed mutual admiration for each other and
spoke of the need for closer relationship between the two countries.
"We talked about the India-US nuclear deal and how important it is
for our respective countries," Bush said as the two leaders appeared
before the press in a relaxed mood and displayed personal warmth.
"I respect the Prime Minister a lot. I also respect India a lot, and
I think it's very important that the United States continues to work
with our friends to develop not only a new strategic relationship,
but a relationship that addresses some of the world's problems," the
President said.
Indian sources, with access to senior officials at the talks, said
Bush gave his assurance that his administration would try and speed
up the legal and legislative processes, including pushing it through
the IAEA and NSG forums, so that the deal gets finalised well before
the end of the year and before he lays down office in January 2009.
Left-UPA divorce tops four years of troubled ties
http://www.zeenews.
New Delhi, July 08: The Left-UPA divorce on Tuesday capped a
tumultuous relationship on several thorny issues --ranging from the
Indo-US nuclear deal to the rising prices of essential commodities
and the government's inclination to open up financial and retail
sectors to foreign direct investment.
After agreeing with the UPA's Common Minimum Programme and extending
their support to the Congress-led coalition when it came to power,
the Left continued to maintain that the government should not deviate
from it.
The trouble became pronounced when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made
his first official visit to the United States in July 2005 and signed
a joint statement with President George Bush, which the Left said was
taking India closer to the American strategic interests.
Singh's visit had followed that of then Defence Minister Pranab
Mukherjee who had signed the Indo-US strategic defence framework
agreement, which led to increasing military ties and joint exercises
between the two defence forces.
The Left, which had been opposing the government's "neo-liberal"
economic policies, opened another front against its foreign policy
while accusing it of ignoring the CMP.
In the context of the rising inflation graph, the outside supporters
made a series of recommendations, including banning of futures
trading and slashing of taxes and duties on oil products, but
complained that their views were not considered by the government.
The four Left parties, with a strength of 59 members in Lok Sabha,
have been fiercely opposing liberalisation of the banking and
insurance sectors.
The Left's opposition to the UPA government also stemmed from the
government's pursuance of the policies of the erstwhile BJP-led
government to allow 74 per cent FDI in the banking sector, FDI in
retail trade as well as privatisation of major airports.
Their continued opposition led the Left parties to organise
nationwide protests on several occasions, besides opposing many
proposals inside Parliament.
The UPA-Left Coordination Committee, set up to monitor the
implementation of the CMP promises, was also disbanded as the outside
supporters felt "betrayed" that several major issues were not being
taken up.
On energy security, the four parties also wanted India to pursue the
Iran-Pakistan-
US "pressures." They also sought explanations from the government on
India's vote against Iran at the IAEA.
The comrades, however, appreciated the government's efforts in
pushing through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the
Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers (recognition
of forest rights) act.
Their continued pressure on the UPA to get the much- delayed women's
reservation bill finally bore fruit with the government tabling it in
Parliament. However, the legislation, which is a major CMP promise,
is yet to be passed.
As the Left parties went on the backfoot over the Nandigram issue,
they asked the Centre to amend the special economic zone laws and
rules to specify compensation and other social welfare measures for
those who would lose their land for major industrial or
infrastructure projects.
On badly-needed social security reforms in India, the Left again
opposed the government's move to privatise pension funds and invest a
portion of its corpus in the stock market. The pension fund
development and regulatory authority (PFRDA) bill is thus pending
before Parliament.
In August last year, the Prime Minister had dared the Left to
withdraw support to his government over the Indo-US nuclear deal. He
had said the deal in no way compromised India's position and would
rather end the country's nuclear isolation.
The Left and the UPA then set up a joint panel headed by External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to examine the nuclear deal but
there seemed no meeting ground.
On November 16 last year, the joint panel agreed that the government
would approach the IAEA secretariat to seek clarifications and the
deliberations would be reported to the UPA-Left Joint Committee.
"The government will proceed ahead only after the committee submits
its findings," the statement issued after the committee meeting had
said.
But the Prime Minister's statement on his way to the G-8 summit in
Japan yesterday that the government will approach the IAEA very soon
to get the safeguards agreement ratified provoked the outside
supporters who decided to pull the rug now itself.
They felt that the Prime Minister's statement had put both the UPA-
Left Committee as well as its Chairman Pranab Mukherjee in
a "ridiculous position," with the former saying the government had
decided to go to the IAEA and the latter asking the Left parties to
hold another round of meeting on the issue.
Bureau Report
Australia unlikely to oppose nuclear deal
9 Jul 2008, 1051 hrs IST,PTI
MELBOURNE: Australia is unlikely to oppose the Indo-US deal at the
Nuclear Suppliers Group, a crucial step in the completion of the
agreement, sources here. The Australian Opposition pushed the Kevin
Rudd Government to reverse its "hypocritical" stand of not selling
uranium to New Delhi.
The Labour Government was against uranium sale to India as it is not
an NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatory. Sources,
however, told The Age daily that Canberra was not expected to
obstruct approval of the Indo-US deal at the 45-member Nuclear
Suppliers Group.
The report came as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his Australian
counterpart Kevin Rudd for the first time on the sidelines of the G8
Summit in Toyako.
Rory Medcalf, an international security analyst at the Lowy Institute
for International Policy, said the Rudd Government needed to balance
Australia's increasingly important relationship with India with its
strong stance on nuclear non-proliferation.
"I would not rule out Australia making a few noises about the deal,"
he said adding "But I'd be surprised if Australia was the chief
obstacle to it at the Nuclear Suppliers Group."
At a meeting last month between External Affairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee and his counterpart Stephen Smith, Australia had refused to
rescind the ban on sale of uranium to India. Australia had, however,
said that it would take a decision on approving the "123 nuclear
agreement" at the NSG when the time came.
Assocham in favour of Indo-US nuclear deal
Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry is supportive
of the Indo-US nuclear deal describing it as `in the interests of the
country'.
In a statement Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said tht who ever
supports the government on this issue, deserves to be praised.
Reacting on Left's withdrawal of support to UPA government, he said
that it did not spring a surprise since communists had made it clear
that if the government goes ahead with nuclear deal, they would
withdraw their support.
In a statement issued here, Mr. Jindal said that withdrawal of
support from Left's was anticipated. .
The nuclear deal would generate cooperation between India on the one
hand and nuclear power producing countries on the other since it
would help India generate nuclear power which is the need of hour,
said Mr. Jindal.
Time short for Indo-US nuclear deal: White House
Agence France-Presse
Toyako, July 08, 2008
First Published: 14:40 IST(8/7/2008)
Last Updated: 15:11 IST(8/7/2008)
The White House on Tuesday warned that time was running short to
ratify a landmark US-India civilian nuclear agreement during US
President George W Bush's term, which ends in January.
Speaking on the eve of Bush's talks at this mountain resort with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, spokeswoman Dana Perino said the US
Congress had a heavy workload and "a limited number of legislative
days."
Perino brushed aside a question about whether Singh was expected to
announce that he is ready to move ahead with the agreement, saying it
was "premature to say" before the leaders met on the margins of a
rich nation summit.
"But obviously we've maintained a strong commitment to carrying
through on our side of the deal, and obviously India has had a lot of
discussion among its political parties," she told reporters.
"It's been a long road, and there's been a healthy debate," Perino
said.
"We'll have to see what he's able to bring on the India civil nuclear
agreement," she said. "It could be that he's ready to move forward --
but it also could just as likely be that they have a little bit more
work to do."
"But we obviously recognise as well that we have a limited number of
legislative days for our congress to get a lot of work done," said
the spokeswoman.
Singh on Monday arrived in Toyako, where he was expected to tell Bush
he will move ahead on the stalled nuclear cooperation accord despite
tough opposition.
Singh and Bush in 2005 unveiled an agreement to share civilian
nuclear technology -- a deal that when finalised would see India
entering the fold of global nuclear commerce after being shut out for
decades.
The Nuclear deal - some reservations
http://www.centralc
The die has been finally cast. The UPA government has decided to
approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to finalise
the India-specific Safeguards Agreement. Although there is a huge
amount of support within the country for the Indo-US Nuclear Deal,
one wished the government had been a little wary of some of its
implications. There are several issues which needed in-depth
consideration before the plunge was taken.
Firstly, the extraordinary interest shown by the US in the Deal
raises suspicions about its intentions. In whatever the US does its
national interest is always paramount, in pursuit of which it tends
to become overbearing and brash. Its Administration is not really one
which is known for altruism - without any motives. There is, surely
something more to the Deal than what meets the eye - something vital
which is at stake for the US and which, seemingly, hinges on it.
Nobody knows what it is. If it's only commercial, and not political,
we could consider ourselves somewhat blessed.
Secondly, the government should have been mindful of various
intimidating clauses of the Hyde Act. Touted as a domestic
legislation that enabled the Administration to negotiate the 123
Agreement for the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, it contains tell-tale signs
of the US intentions to bring India within its fold - a veritable
close embrace, seemingly, of more sinister nature than the "Soviet
bear-hug". The very Preamble of the Act has the unseemly provision
that India could be a "fit partner" if it, inter alia, had a foreign
policy that is "congruent" to that of the United States and that it
works "with it in key foreign policy initiatives related to non-
proliferation.
US President that " India is fully and actively participating" in the
efforts of the US to "contain" Iran 's nuclear programme. More
importantly, it requires US Administration to scrap the 123 Agreement
if India conducted a nuclear test. The government's claim that the
123 Agreement overrides the Hyde Act seems a false belief. In a
crunch situation the latter can be used to force scrapping of the
Deal. One wished the government had been more transparent about the
matter.
Then, US ratification of the Deal will surely bring the two countries
much closer than they have ever been before. This, at once, is likely
to make Al Qaeda see India as a collaborator of the US and,
consequently, a major target for its foot soldiers for devastating
terrorist attacks. Al Qaeda surrogates are already operating against
the country from Pakistan and Bangladesh where they happen to be well-
entrenched with official and unofficial support. For them, our
borders virtually do not exist; they have a free run of the country
and are able to launch at will terror attacks on our sensitive
locations. Unless, like the US, we take strict and uncompromising
security measures, empowering, strengthening, upgrading and
modernising the entire internal security apparatus, proxy Al Qaeda
warriors could do the same with our atomic power facilities.
Hopefully, steps in these directions have been initiated.
Another issue that has remained unaddressed concerns the vital
question of disposal of the radioactive nuclear waste that will be
generated by nuclear power plants. Classified into three categories -
low level, intermediate level and high level wastes (HLW) - disposal
of the nuclear wastes has to be managed with great care for
protecting people and the environment from lethal effects of
radiation. Atomic power plants mostly generate HLW, some of which
take thousands of years to decay to half of their potency. Hence
after being stored for around 40-odd years in leak-proof sealed
casks, these have to be permanently buried in deep underground
geologically suitable repositories. The US is still to find a
suitable site for its HLW which are now due for burial, having been
around in sealed containers for some 40 years. One feels a little
uneasy about our capabilities, as we have made heavy weather of
disposal of the dangerous chemical wastes of the now-defunct Union
Carbide factory in Bhopal. Twenty years on, the wastes are still
lying at the site, polluting the surroundings and damaging the health
of the people of the area.
It is not yet too late to seriously consider some of these vital
issues that cast a shadow over the Deal. They need to be brought out
into public discourse for clarity and comprehension even as the Deal
cruises along on its pre-determined trajectory towards fruition.
Proloy Bagchi
Expressindia » Story
http://www.expressi
always-played-
Posted online: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 at 12:21:59
Updated: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 at 01:55:31
New Delhi, July 9: From outside supporters to a force that came in
the way of virtually anything and everything that the Government
attempted to do, the four Left parties played the role of Opposition
in the last 50 months, giving no leg room whatsoever to the UPA.
As the uneasy and at times acrimonious UPA-Left marriage finally
ended, The Indian Express scanned through the political statements
issued in the last four years by the CPM to find out that majority of
them were "opposing", "criticising" and "advising" the Government on
one issue or the other.
The comrades, who enjoyed authority without being in power, began
showing the red flag right from the word go and criticised the
Government at every stage.
Whether it was opening up of telecom, insurance, civil aviation,
agriculture and retail sectors to FDI, divesting shares of public
sector units, pension Bill, ordnance to amend Patents Act, foreign
policy issues or the Special Economic Zones, they slammed each and
every step.
So much so that when the UPA launched its ambitious National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Left was engaged in a war of
attrition with it over India's stance at the IAEA over Iran's nuclear
programme and accusing the Government of succumbing to US pressures.
But the parties have been by and large silent on health and education
issues except for the on-and-off demands for more budgetary
allocation for these sectors.
Out of the 300-odd political statements that the CPM issued in the
last 50 months, their opposition and reservations over the Indo-US
nuclear deal figured in as many as 50 of them, including those
released after the Central Committee and Politburo meetings.
Majority of the other statements advised the Government to either toe
their line or opposed key policy issues. Most of them ended with a
similar line — the Left will launch an agitation and mobilise public
support against the policies of the UPA Government.
Trouble began in the first year itself when the Left parties
criticised "inclusion of World Bank officials in Planning
Commission", alluding to the appointment of Montek Singh Ahluwalia as
Deputy Chairman, in September 2004.
They followed it up by opposing Government plans to disinvest shares
of public sector navaratnas and miniratnas and questioning scrapping
of Press Note 18 in October. In December, they disapproved the
ordnance route to amend the Patents Act.
They saw red in the decision to allow private domestic airlines to
operate on international routes and strongly opposed the hike in FDI
cap in telecom from 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
The first major showdown came in May, 2005 when the Communists
decided to stop attending the UPA-Left coordination committee
meetings in protest against the Cabinet decision to offload 10 per
cent of Government's equity in BHEL.
The Government had to blink after days of standoff and stopped the
BHEL divestment. The Left had drawn the first blood and they then
started advising Government on economic issues.
A proposal on reduced impact of price rise read: suspend road cess
increase, forego increased customs and excise Duty, make additional
crude cess available for stabilisation fund, suspend duty free
benefit for exports and review and withdraw sales tax concessions to
private refineries.
They opposed privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports and mounted
pressure on the Government to expedite the Iran-Pakistan-
pipeline project.
They soon started dictating terms on key foreign policy and security
related issues as well — from asking the Government not to resume
military supplies to Nepal under the monarchy to desist from buying F-
16 fighters. They played the role of advisor while being the
stumbling block.
The Left also asked the Government not to engage in military ties
with Israel.
India's vote against Iran at the IAEA on Tehran's nuclear issue was
another flashpoint. The Left openly declared that the Manmohan Singh
government had surrendered to US pressure. The deepening Indo-US
defence ties was always a matter of contention and it finally ended
in the severing of UPA-Left ties.
Their pathological dislike for the US began threatening the UPA
Government in 2005, barely a year after it assumed office, when they
opposed any strategic ties with America.
The India-US Defence Framework agreement was the first irritant.
Then came the big nuclear showdown. After asking the Government to
reveal details of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, they graduated to
opposing the 123 agreement once the text was released by the
Government in August 2007.
The Communists asked the Government not to operationalise the deal,
but later allowed conditional negotiations on the safeguards
agreement with the IAEA. But the writing was on the wall that the
allies will not allow the Government to proceed further and will
withdraw support if it went ahead.
DELHI DIARYPublished: Wednesday, 9 July, 2008, 08:08 AM Doha Time
The Indo-US nuclear deal and `national interest'
By A K B Krishnan
http://www.gulf-
cu_no=2&item_
THE acrimony of an impending break-up and the intense flirtations of
a budding romance have played out in agonising and entertaining slow
motion in the corridors of power in the Indian capital last week,
leaving everyone guessing about the actual dates and modalities of
both the divorce and the wedding.
But the moment came sooner than later. The tantalising uncertainty
hanging over the feverish political drama under the shadow
of "national interests" vis-a-vis the Indo-US nuclear deal came to an
end early this week.
The Left parties, who kept asserting that the threat to withdraw
support to safeguard "national interests" is not an empty one, did
pull the rug at last and decided to meet the president today to
formally declare their withdrawal of support to the UPA government.
They said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statements on moving the
IAEA soon had rendered any further talks on the issue meaningless and
wanted the government to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
The Left, which was enjoying power without responsibility, has
decided on the break-up after its early attempt to forestall Manmohan
Singh's attendance at the G8 summit failed. It is the Left's failure
to appreciate the value of ending India's nuclear isolation that has
driven the communists off the political cliff.
While the Left's arguments against a strategic alliance with the US
deserve a hearing, its attempts to link India's nuclear liberation
with American "imperialism" have been simply outlandish. The image
the Left parties have been beaming so far across to the national
audience is that of a confused group, superficial in their loud
rhetorical posturing and unable to part ways in one decisive movement
before the UPA's completion of the five-year term.
By far the worst manifestation of the politicisation of the deal, and
India's foreign policy, was the regrettable attempt of the CPM to
communalise the issue. Nothing could have been more absurd and
avoidable than its remark that those "supporting" the deal would lose
their Muslim vote bank.
In the history of Indian democracy, this remark must rank among the
most damaging to its secularism and diversity. It is unfair to the
Muslim community in India to assume that it opposes the agreement by
virtue of religion. This only serves to illustrate how far the party
under Prakash Karat has strayed from true Marxism.
The UPA government too was at the end of its tether and was firm this
time and proclaimed its resolve to go ahead with the deal. Briefing
reporters on the prime minister's visit to the G8 summit from July 7-
9, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon avoided all questions about
timeframe and said: "We want to go ahead with it (the deal), we will
do our best, we will go ahead with it as soon as we can…."
"There is absolutely no threat to the UPA government which will sign
the nuclear deal with the US in time, come what may. There is no
hesitation in this regard," asserted Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Priyaranjan Das Munshi.
The Congress did not leave anything to chance. Intense political
activity was unfolding behind closed doors in New Delhi. Samajwadi
Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh held back-to-back
meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and with UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi. After getting former president A P J Kalam's
endorsement of the nuclear pact, the Samajwadi leaders stressed that
the nuclear deal is in "national interest". But if the N-deal has
passed muster, details of the "M-deal" remain to be ironed out.
The Congress was obviously putting all its eggs in Mulayam's basket,
hoping that he will sustain the UPA in the numbers game in the Lok
Sabha. And Mulayam himself seems ready to leave his
erstwhile "friends and comrades" of the Left and the UNPA (the Third
Front parties) in the lurch instead of his early plans of leading
them against both the Congress and the BJP.
Every party claims it acts in the national interest. But who defines
what the nation's interests are and what are beneficial or not to the
nation? The controversy over the nuclear deal reveals the confusion
and hypocrisy. In the case of the Left parties, the matter becomes
more complex, since in their ideology, the national interest is made
to intersect with other interests, specifically those of class.
The Left believes that the deal will bring India too close to the US,
so close that India might lose her independence in the realm of
foreign policy. So it is the sheep of the Left's anti-Americanism
that is being dressed up as the anti-nuclear deal mutton.
Critics could also point out that communists in India have not always
supported policies that are incontrovertibly beneficial to the
national interest.
The BJP's opposition to the deal is inexplicable. The party, which
took the last and dramatic step to make India a nuclear power,
believes that nuclear power is in India's national interest. Yet it
is opposed to the Indo-US nuclear deal, which will enable India to
bring supplies to its starving reactors. Its opposition obviously is
to the Congress doing the deal. The deal and what constitutes
national interest have come to be identified with the Congress. The
fate of the deal is now tied to the continuation of the government
that is led by the Congress. But there is no guarantee that had the
Congress been in the opposition, it would not have objected to a
similar deal if it were being made by a BJP government.
Till the other day, the Samajwadi Party too was opposed to the deal.
But its flirtations with the Congress made it a convert overnight,
but not before Kalam's "convincing advice that the deal is in
national interest".
Kalam, of course, is one of India's foremost missile scientists and
the best-loved president. But, surely there's another reason that he
was chosen for the exercise.
He's Muslim and when he says the deal is in "national interest", the
two political parties hope it's a powerful antidote to the
reactionary clerics who argue otherwise.
The phrase "national interest" has thus become an item in the
politicians' rhetorical baggage. Politicians are not the sole
guardians or repositories of national interests. They only make what
are matters of national interest into electoral issues to gain votes.
The bickerings over the nuclear deal show up Indian politics at its
worst. Political interests invariably triumph over those of the
nation. Easy options are often preferred to tough decisions. With
inflation raging and stock markets plummeting, political stability
should be the greatest concern at the moment. But survival in office
takes precedence over a creative response to varied challenges facing
the nation. And this could be as true of the opposition as it is of
the government.
US Congress may not have time to pass Indo-US Nuke deal
http://www.thaindia
have-time-to-
Washington, July 9 (ANI): Despite Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singhs daring effort of shunning his Left coalition partners and
announcing going ahead with the Indo-US deal, it seems the US
Congress may not be able to give its final approval, as it requires
at least 30 days of continuous session to consider it which is not
likely to happen in the days to come.
The US Congress stamp on the deal does not seem possible, since
(because of the long August recess) less than 40 days are left before
the US Congress session adjourns on Sept. 26, said a report in the
Washington Post.
And, before that, India is to clear two more hurdles - completing an
agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and
securing approval from the 45 nations constituting the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG) which governs trade in reactors and uranium.
At this point, both [the IAEA and NSG actions] have to take place in
the next couple of weeks for the deal to be considered by the US
Congress, said Lynne Weil, the spokeswoman for the House Foreign
Affairs Committee.
But, the IAEA Board of Governors is not expected to take up the
matter until August, whereas the NSG may take several months to reach
a consensus, added the paper.
Now, with the near impossibility of US Congressional passage by year-
end, officials and experts have begun to focus on the possibility
that other countries such as France and Russia would rush in to make
nuclear sales to India while US companies still face legal
restrictions, added the paper.
But, a US State Department official, on the condition of anonymity,
said that the Bush administration might pressure the US Congress not
to thwart potential business opportunities for American companies. It
is the hidden force of this agreement It is US business that sees an
opportunity, the paper quoted him as saying.
In the event of the deal not getting passed by the US Congress and
the US Presidential elections approach, New Delhi will have to wait
for the results with fingers crossed. While Republican candidate John
McCain is a strong supporter of the agreement, his Democratic rival
Barack Obama, is more skeptical about the deal, said the paper.
It added that during the Congressional debate on the Hyde Act, Obama
inserted language in the bill limiting the amount of nuclear fuel
supplied to India from the United States to deter nuclear testing.
(ANI)
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