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Indian govt tears itself apart on
N-deal with US
WSN Bureau
New Delhi: Just as this WSN edition was
going to the press, India's coalition government and its Left allies
were meeting on Wednesday over a civilian nuclear deal with the
United States. The talks could decide if the controversial energy
pact survives or the ruling coalition. Or whether the government and
the country live in a state of limbo for some more time.
Left parties have spent the last entire
week threatening on a daily basis to pull back the crutches if Sonia
Gandhi-led Congress did not pull back its horses on the nuclear deal
with the United States. The situation was a repeat of last year's
threat that saw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition delay a
showdown over a deal. That showdown is finally happening now.
The non-Left rag-tag groups that make up
for this coalition are worried that the record-breaking inflation at
a 13-year high could destroy their re-election chances in a snap
poll while the Left has been overtly mentioning how Muslims are
opposed to the deal, something the Congress too will have to take
into account.
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Key Points
- The deal needs clearances from
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of
governors and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
- Then it goes to the US
Congress for final approval.
- Some think it may already be
too late as US gears up for presidential elections. It may not
leave any time for congressional action.
- One possibility is that the
Left could allow the government to negotiate an India-specific
safeguards agreement with the IAEA, and not let the deal go
any further. That would buy the government time. Deal will
still be in limbo.
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Wedded to total capitalist path towards
development and a policy plan steered largely by marketing magnates,
Manmohan Singh, considered the father of liberalisation, has staked
his reputation and political standing publicly on the deal and many
wonder if he may indeed sacrifice the Congress-led government with
less than a year before polls. Not many think it will be his
decision alone and he is largely seen as vulnerable to political
pressure, if not from the rightist BJP or the Left but certainly
from closer home, from his party boss Sonia Gandhi.
Whether 10, Janpath is stronger than the
PMO has been a debate that has kept the Indian media busy for over
four years now.
The PM considers the nuclear deal vital to end India's long
exclusion from global civilian nuclear trade, and Foreign Minister
Pranab Mukherjee described it as the "most potent means" for
achieving energy security for Asia's third-largest economy. India is
not a signatory to the NPT and the Congress has been selling the
deal as a way of entering the legitimate nuclear club without
signing the NPT. The Left claims the deal, though giving India
access to US nuclear fuel and technology, would damage India's
independent foreign policy and security. Also, it has raised
questions on the efficacy of the deal on energy front too.
A number of nuclear scientists have argued in favour as well as
against the deal.
While Veerappa Moily, a senior Congress leader, said, "The prime
minister has categorically stated that nuclear deal is one important
agenda, but the future of the government does not depend on the
nuclear deal alone," it was clear that Wednesday could be make or
mar day.
25
June, 2008
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