By our political analyst
Melbourne: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s finally read the writing on the wall and decided to put the controversial Indo-US N-deal in the cold storage. Manmohan Singh has asserted that he would not put the Government at stake over the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Left parties supporting the UPA govt. led by Mr. Manmohan Singh, were firmly opposed to the deal on the ground that it would compromise India’s sovereignty because the Hyde Act would override the deal. They had threatened to withdraw support if the government went ahead with the deal.
This has been welcomed in the scientific community. It is the most sensible thing the government has done,” former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, H N Sethna said welcoming the remarks of Singh that “ours is not a one-issue government and it will do all it can to avoid early polls”, according to the Times of India.
According to The Telegraph (Calcutta) : “ Apart from averting the threat of early elections, the decision to “go slow” on operationalising the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement actually enhances the chances of the deal’s survival rather than bringing about its premature death.”
“It was this realisation that played a key role in persuading the Manmohan Singh administration to heed the voice of allies as well as Congress leaders and step back from the brink, government sources revealed.”
“If we went ahead with negotiations with the IAEA leading to the withdrawal of support from the Left, the deal itself would be in jeopardy. But by de-linking the deal from the Bush administration’s timetable, the next two steps (the India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA and the nuclear suppliers group waiver) can be taken at a later stage before the term of the UPA government expires,” a senior official said.”
Well, whatever one might think, for all practical purposes the deal is over until the next elections. In a way, Manmohan Singh has followed coalition dharma, decided to hear to his allies (The Left), and given preference to save his government. If the Congress wants to go, ahead with the deal, it should try to muster a majority in the next Parliament and there will be nobody to stop it. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen given the political scenario in the country. Next time Bush will also be not there in the White House. So, the deal is dead.
Related posts:
- The final word (‘The Asian Age’ Edit on Indo-US N-Deal Aug.21, ’07) The Left parties have made it clear to the Congress...
- Put the nuclear deal on hold: The Hindu (Edit.- Aug. 20, 2007) For a mild-mannered Prime Minister who leads a government dependent...
- Left, BJP, UNPA protest Indo-US N-deal in Parliament NEW DELHI: The Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal issue disrupted proceedings...
- Karat explains stand on Indo-US N-deal in article By RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN New Delhi, Aug. 18: CPI(M) general secretary...
- Majority in India wants N-deal with US trashed: Seema Mustafa By Seema Mustafa Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that...
- Nuke test by India w ill kill deal, says US MFA refutes statement, says testing is India’s prerogative Nilova Roy...
- Exclusive: WHY THE STAND-OFF ON INDO-US N-DEAL? By A. B. Bardhan, General Secretary Communist Party of India...
- Left to Manmohan Singh: Stop N-deal with US or fall By Seema Mustafa New Delhi: August 18: The countdown has...
- India fights back: The anti-India N-deal cannot be operationalised By Seema Mustafa Truth. This has been the casualty of...
- Labor to scrap Uranium deal with India: Kevin Rudd By Neeraj Nanda Melbourne: Australia’s decision to export Uranium to...
