Nuke Opera: Skin Exposure Realty Reality Ramp

Nuke Opera: Skin Exposure Realty Reality Ramp



Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 25

Palash Biswas



http://troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/



CPI(M) MP slams Somnath for not quitting

New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) Hitting out at Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for not quitting his post, a senior CPI(M) MP today said his argument of not voting along with BJP holds no water as he had accepted the saffron party's support during the election to the post of Speaker.
"His argument does not hold water. He did not have any problem when BJP supported his candidature to the post of Speaker," Varkala Radhakrishnan, MP from Kerala's Chirayankeezhu, said here.

He noted that the UPA, Left and the BJP had voted in favour of many issues together during the present term of the Lok Sabha.

"This (Chatterjee's argument) is childish. Every party has its own stand on issues. Even the Speaker has to toe his party's line," Radhakrishnan, a former Speaker of Kerala Assembly, said.

Taking a potshot at the Speaker, he said, "does Chatterjee de-board a plane if he finds that a BJP MP in it while travelling?" Chatterjee has came under pressure from his party to quit the post after the Left withdrew support to the UPA but he is understood to have raised questions over the CPI(M)'s decision to vote along with BJP against the UPA government during the trust vote. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/AA1D15468B1F59AA652574880054CCFB?OpenDocument


I have talked to some friendly editors of so called national dailies and asked them, ` How do you get the smell of the recipe created in Indira Bhawan? What discussion goes on in between West Bengal CPIM Gestapo heads to have an escape route to bail out the government as well as the Nuke deal? Who knows what plan is chalked out there? Is West Bengal CPIM ready to face fresh Elections at this point? How they are supposed to persuade a reluctant senior most leader to resign as Speaker? Has Chatterjee the courage to hold on unless his long time partners are rock solid behind them? What Pranab told Basu? how do you got the Letter Bomb from the Marxist speaker?”

I got no answer. But the media leaders accepted that the information's leak from the power bases and this Leak happens to be the main source of News Break. Reporters are fed well!

Is any information leak is free of Mirch Massala?

Does any interest group, specially the most organised Political gestapo in this world, leak any information to undermine its base at any cost?


Nandigram still tense

Statesman News Service
TAMLUK, July 15: Tension ran high in Nandigram today, a day before the proposed visit of the leaders of Matangini Mahila Samity (MMS), in the trouble torn villages, when some Trinamul Congress workers allegedly forced some CPI-M workers to shut down their shops at Tekhali market, Maheshpur, Southkhali, Natunbazar and Bankimmore.
At least 15 CPI-M workers were threatened with dire consequences until they closed their shops at these markets in Nandigram today, said Mr Ashok Guria, a CPI-M district secretariat member.
Mr Guria alleged, around 300 party supporters from different villages are not being able to initiate cultivation during this monsoon as they have been threatened by the Trinamul workers to stay away from cultivation. Their arguments is that these supporters had strongly supported the government’ views on industrialisation and so they would not be allowed to go ahead with cultivation.When asked about the incident, Mr Abu Taher, a Trinamul Congress leader said his party colleagues had to go through same situation a few months ago and even Mr Laxman Seth had announced in a meeting that those who will oppose the industrialisation will not be provided any employment in the proposed chemical hub.
Meanwhile, when asked about the visit of the Matangini Mahila Samity leaders at the villages in Nandigram, Mr Guria said: “When they stayed during the trouble period in Nandigram, they had only roles to motivate the villagers against the CPI-M. So, this time, they will do the same job. I have reports that their workers are campaigning here about their visit on Wednesday”.

Just see! It is still full of smoke and fire!

So ridiculous are the speculations of ideological debate or Constitutional obligations!

From my little experience, I put the Money on CPIM`s masterstroke to save the deal and the governemnt as well as its political fate and face!

And it is nothing the political Skin Exposure of a very sexy commodity, the post of speaker!

And just read this!


I am tired of speculation: Somnath
16 Jul 2008, 2130 hrs IST,Times Now

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has finally broken his silence on the speculation on whether or not he will give up the chair. Speaking exclusively to Times Now , Somnath Chatterjee kept his cards close to his chest saying that he would reveal his decision on July 21 - the day the trust vote motion will be introduced in the Lok Sabha.

"I stand by my earlier statement. There is unnecessary speculation in the media ... wait till 22nd," said Somnath Chatterjee on-board a flight to Hyderabad.

Probed further as to what was his decision on the Speakership issue, Chatterjee said, "It is a million dollar question...you keep on speculating."

Till now, Somnath Chatterjee had been silent, even as it was reported that he disagreed with the CPM on voting alongside the BJP in the trust vote.

Hitting out at Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for not quitting his post, a senior CPM MP on Wednesday said his argument of not voting along with BJP holds no water as he had accepted the saffron party's support during the election to the post of Speaker.

Chatterjee has came under pressure from his party to quit the post after the Left withdrew support to the UPA but he is understood to have raised questions over the CPM's decision to vote along with BJP against the UPA government during the trust vote.

Sources in the CPM say Somnath has communicated his decision to mentor Jyoti Basu and would only quit if Basu asks him to. In fact in Kolkata, the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, accompanied by Industry Ministry Nirupam Sen, met Jyoti Basu for the second time in two days seeking his intervention to persuade the Speaker to toe the party line.

It was reported that Somnath Chatterjee had also written to Karat about his position but this was brushed aside by Karat in Delhi on Tuesday and then again in Chennai on Wednesday morning. According to the sources, Somnath Chatterjee is unlikely to quit, choosing to stay on as Speaker and preside over the trust vote on 21st and 22nd of the month of July.

Facing defiance from Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee over the issue of his continuance in office, the CPM today insisted that there was nothing wrong in including his name in the list of MPs withdrawing support to the UPA as he was elected on a party ticket.

CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said in a statement in New Delhi that "disinformation campaign" on the issue of inclusion of Speaker's name in the CPM list submitted to the President was doing the rounds.

"What I said is that the Speaker's name should be included in the CPM list as he was elected as a CPM candidate but with an asterisk denoting that he is the Lok Sabha Speaker, as is the normal Parliamentary procedure," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I_am_tired_of_speculation_Somnath/articleshow/3241986.cms


US Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had told Pakistan's top civil and military leadership that the US could take unilateral military action if Pakistan is unable to stop cross-border attacks on Afghanistan!US Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had told Pakistan's top civil and military leadership that the US could take unilateral military action if Pakistan is unable to stop.



You have to allow a space, very delicate to decide, for Exposure!



Long way back ten years at least, my energetic niece Munia told me while discussing her career as a blooming fashion designer. Her mother Beena is my real cousin who is based in Pratap Khand, Jhilmil colony, New Delhi, where some of the Delhi journalists also reside. My cousin Arun has got his three story house in Jahangirpura in West Delhi bordering karnal, Hariyana. I seldom visit the place and his wife Jharna, my wife Savita`s maternal village related niece complain so often.



Beena and my another cousin Subhash share most of my childhood days as Meeradi was married away right in 1961. Beena is just a year younger than me. Subhash, the son of Chhotokaka is another year younger. Beena or Subhash never argued with me anytime. While the twosome quarreled too much. Beena and Subhash had been the dearest students of our music teacher while I never could cope with anything in music.



Beena was married in 1973 while I was appearing in High School exam. Her husband Niranjan Sarkar, an ITI electrician belonged to Hastinapur , Meerut. He was then engaged in Madan Mill Meerut. He mobilised to Muradnagar very soon and finally settled in Delhi after spending sometime in Rohatak, Hariyana.



Munia, the eldest offspring in the family appeared in 1978. She has two IT specialist brothers Dilip and Bishwajeet.



The children were associated with redical student`s association.



Even, Munia joined a conference in Kolkata and did not call me. later I befriended with Delhi University Radical students` leaders.



All of them talked so much on ideology and Marxist deviation in Indian Politics.



Kanchan kumar Mukherjee was a hero for them and I knew the guy who translated Sukanto Bhattacharya. I was disillusioned with the ideological bankruptcy of the Maoist, Naxalite friends while I gave Kanchan da every document on Citizenship Amendment Bill and partition victim Dalit Bengali refugees persecution in India to present the case in Mumbai resistance forum as I could not be present there for I was busy in North East. Kanchan da sat over all these documents and did say nothing while our JNU friends and representatives from Patna led by Pushpraj raised the issue. strangely enough. The Ambedkarites resisted against the inclusion of the issue in agenda. Sainath called me and expressed shock.



Later, in Kolkata, While the on going demonstration against Nandigram Massacre was going very strong thanks to the so called Civil society and the dias was shared by Mahashweta Debi, Medha Patkar, Rasheeda B, Shaonli Mitra, Sunand Sanyal, Dipankar Bhattacharya and kolkat cultural item, I could not resist myself talking to Dipankar Bhattachary, the general Secretary of CPIML as the song written by my dearest friend Gorkh Pandey did electrify the audience. Deepankar agreed to discuss the resistance strategies against Brhaminical ruling Hegemony in west Bengal led by CPIM. But the party leaders are avoiding to fix a date and a full year has passed.



The children in Delhi could never know any thing about the Communist betrayals in India. they never touched the heat and dust in Telengana, Shrikakulam, Dhimri Block and Naxal Bari. they tended to target me as a soft spot to hit for their romantic revolutionary adventure.



Munia was then in a little focus as Suchitra Sarkar, the fashion designer from NIFT who presented her creations in solo exhibitions in Metros. She also discussed fashion with me. the children discussed a lot on Politics, dram and literature. They had the children of Virendra Jain, a well known reputed Hindi Novelist in their friend circle. They were somehow proud for their poor uncle who did also appear in prints often!



I wondered how my dearest niece was engaged in ramps with models exposing skin! How did it related to Ideology and politics! They could not convince me. Munia is married in an Elite Brahmin Chakrabati family and gave up her career as fashion Designer for her love with Computer engineer husband. None of them talks politics!



But I have got the answer!



The Politics and Ideology combined in India is nothing but Realty Reality Ramp as we witness the Truth emerging out of Somanth Chatterjee Letter Bomb! Meanwhile we have seen the height of hypocrisy as the Marxists pulled down Jyoti Basu in its historical Blunder. The Historical Blunder is repeated once again on the name of anti Imperialsim.



I repeat Indian Ruling Class has never joined in Anti Imperialism War anytime in History. Rather it crushed , betrayed the Indigenous nationalities engaged in anti imperialism war.



Without any resistance since 1991, the beginning of LPG and Neoliberalism, the communist Brahmans in India are posing Hard Core Patriots in anti imperialist campaign all of a sudden while no one may stop either Indo US strategic partnership or the Nuke Deal.



But the Parliamentary Nuke Opera is Blooming like bamboos in North East!



MNCs has taken over Indian economy and Indigenous Production system. It is a chain of massacres infinite and Marxists lead way ahead on the capitalist way of Urbanisation and Industrialisation with SEZ, Chemical Hub, Nuclear plants, auto and credit Boom, Outsourcing IT, corporate services, retail chain and nuclear plant!



What good Somnath as a champion parliamentarian has done to Bengal or Bolpur or Shanti Niketan, is no secret!



Who are afraid of earlier elections?



Why Buddha and Nirupam meet Jyoti basu, the nanogenerian so often these days? Who may say that these gentlemen are not trying their best to chalk out a master Plan to resist Praksh Karat and save the deal as well as government?



Media speculations deal just with the Rotten Nonsense of ideology which Pranab Mukherjee ant the gang repeat to avoid any head on collision with the left so the alliance could be possible again after fresh elections to stop RSS, the fascists to hold state Power in the Centre. The marxists opted to ally with the Dalit Queen in UP while they never believed in Ambedkar, Dalit movement and Dalit liberation.



The Marriage Ended but Copulation continues.



Indian Media hides well the Realty Realities of Indian power politics and creates every delicate space for Skin Exposure!



Now just see the developments!



With just six days to go for the trust vote in parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said he was still the speaker while his parent Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said he would take "an appropriate decision at the appropriate time".

"I am still the speaker," Chatterjee told reporters in New delhi.

The issue of what Chatterjee would do has gained prominence as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trust vote in parliament draws closer. The Left's withdrawal of support has reduced the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to a minority and each vote will be crucial for its survival.

The CPI-M leadership reportedly faces a dilemma with Chatterjee - who became the speaker as part of the Left's understanding with the UPA when it extended its outside support in 2004 - refusing to resign after the Communists pulled out last week.

Chatterjee's comments came just after CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat reiterated that the decision to give up the speaker's post had been left to Chatterjee.

"The speaker will decide himself what he wants to do," Karat told reporters in Chennai airport where he arrived Wednesday for a party meeting.

CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury added here: "The party has taken a decision that it was up to the speaker. The speaker will take an appropriate decision at the appropriate time."

Yechury also issued a statement clarifying that the party was following "normal parliamentary practice" by putting Chatterjee's name in the list of MPs submitted to President Pratibha Patil after it withdrew support.

Pointing out that there had been a "disinformation" campaign over the inclusion of Chatterjee's name in the list, Yechury said: "What I had said is that the speaker’s name should be included in the CPI-M list as he was elected as a CPI-M candidate but with an asterisk denoting that currently he is the Lok Sabha speaker, as is the normal parliamentary practice."

The ruling Congress condemned the controversy over the speaker's resignation.

"The Congress condemns the unfortunate attempt to politicise the high constitutional office of the Lok Sabha speaker, which has resulted in a public controversy. The speaker is appointed by the entire Lok Sabha, not by one party," Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said.

"The speaker rises above party affiliation and serves as the speaker of the Lok Sabha in a non-partisan manner. The controversy will create a dangerous precedence," Natarajan warned.

Nuke plants safe, go for the deal: nuclear safety expert

India should shed its apprehensions over the safety of atomic power plants as well as reservations on the Indo-US nuclear deal and operationalise it to bring about a “paradigm shift” in the energy scenario, a nuclear safety expert said in Chennai on Wednesday.

“There are currently 400 nuclear reactors in operation in different parts of the world...Including in earthquake-prone places like Japan,” said L K Krishnan, former director, safety research and health physics group, Indira Gandhi centre for atomic research of the department of atomic energy at Kalpakkam near here.

He said two well-known nuclear accidents, one at Chernobyl in Russia and three mile islands in US are the rare ones. “The Chernobyl reactor is a different kind,” said Krishnan, who takes pride in associating with the Kalpakkam nuclear power plant which withstood the 2004 tsunami.

The tsunami caused by the Indian ocean earthquake caused widespread damage in Kalpakkam coast, but the reactors remained unaffected and according to officials, no casualties were reported from the plant.

While the nuclear deal created a political storm in the country, some critics also cautioned about dangers posed by mega nuclear plants which are expected to come up in a number of places in India if the deal is operationalised.

On the deal, Krishnan asserts that India should go ahead with it as it provides access to buy 1000 mw reactors.

“We should go for it. The first reason is if we go about building reactors ourselves, it's going to take a long time. See how much time it took to build a fast breeder reactor,” he said.

“If this deal goes through we can buy a lot of things which were denied to us due to dual use capability. Won't that be good for us?” Krishnan asked.

He also believes that India should have separated its nuclear power reactors meant for civilian energy and those meant for weapons programme well before going to the IAEA with the recent safeguards agreement.

“If you are not going to use a particular facility for weapons purpose, what is the problem in someone coming and taking a look? Today if we want to buy anything for a reactor, they won't sell it to you due to dual use problem. But if the deal goes through, we can declare reactors for energy use.... They may even sell us new reactors,” he said.

Even Russia at present promised to sell only six reactors to Kudankulam nuclear power plant and not more, he said.

“We can go for large reactors but today only 500 mw turbines are being made in India. If we go for bigger reactors we have to import turbines to suit the size. Five years down the line, if we produce 1000 mw turbines, we can go for bigger reactors.”

He likens the import of uranium, which was expected to be possible after the operationalisation of the IAEA safeguards agreement and securing exemption from NSG countries, with that of buying oil and said one should not be worried over stoppage of supplies.

“Are we not buying oil. We are...Depending on other countries for energy. Even for the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, security issues are involved. What if it is closed (after operationalisation)?” he asked.

On apprehensions about rolling back of the deal if India carried out nuclear tests again, he asked “hasn't it happened before”, referring to sanctions imposed on India after the 1998 nuclear tests.

“Every time sanctions were imposed, the us and other countries lifted them subsequently. Even if they impose it again, it would be only for a while. They will come back to you like in 1998 because we are economically strong,” he said.

“I do not know why we need to conduct another test. Nuclear weapons are not for use. It is only strategic deterrence,” he said adding that the deal will bring about a “paradigm shift” in the country's energy scenario.

“All along we have been isolated. We will come into the mainstream.” On the Hyde act, which BJP and the left oppose, he said the us act was brought in mainly by the non-proliferation lobby and a US-centric law. It need not be accepted by parliament.

Krishnan also questioned suggestions to increase thermal generation to avoid dependence on nuclear power.

“Coal mining cannot be doubled in India. For that, we have to go for deep mining. The ash content of our coal is high and cannot be easily transported. The geological survey of India has been saying it is difficult to open new mines as they are in reserve forest areas or in built up settlements, making it difficult. So it is not easy. Emissions will bring new pressures on us on issues relating to global warming.”

On increasing hydropower generation, he said it largely depends on the monsoon. Also, China has just agreed to share the data on the Brahmaputra river, which has potential to develop hydel power.

“And we have to depend on China for adequate quantity of water. So, overall it is useful to have nuclear energy option,” he said.

Think beyond Iraq, fight Al Qaeda in Afganistan: Obama, McCain
"This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century

Washington: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday said the US must broaden its foreign policy focus beyond Iraq, as he pledged to end the war and focus on fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, while Republican John McCain put forward his strategy for addressing ongoing violence there.

In a speech on foreign policy in Washington ahead of a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East, Obama said the war in Iraq "distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize."


"This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century. By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe," he said.

He renewed his call to withdraw most US troops from Iraq within 16 months if he is elected, and said at least two brigades should be shifted from Iraq to defeating Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"In fact, as should have been apparent to President Bush and Senator McCain, the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," Obama said.


While he admitted a surge in US troops has helped reduce violence in Iraq, he emphasized that it did not change the need to withdraw US troops from the country.


McCain, a long-time supporter of the troop surge, criticized Obama's plan and said his fellow senator should should wait until he assesses the situation in Iraq in person before putting forward a plan.

McCain called for a comprehensive strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan, including a troop increase of three brigades and a renewed international commitment to the conflict there.

"Insecurity in Afghanistan is the world's problem, and the world should share the costs," McCain told a townhall forum in the southwestern US state of New Mexico. He said a civilian-military campaign plan could help to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The Taliban has launched a major offensive in recent weeks while seeking refuge in neighbouring Pakistan, including a rash of suicide bombings that have left scores of people dead. More than three dozen people died in the July 7 bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul.


President George W Bush told reporters Tuesday that the violent situation in Afghanistan has grown worse than that in Iraq because of resilient Taliban militants and their determination to kill innocent people.

During a White House press conference, Bush said Afghanistan now looks similar to Iraq two years ago, when violence peaked and the country was on the verge of a sectarian civil war.

McCain noted that several NATO countries have placed restrictions on where and how their troops can operate in Afghanistan. "That's no way to run a war," he said, in calling for a more unified command.

On Iran, Obama said "no tool of statecraft should be taken off the table" in diplomatic efforts to convince the country to halt its nuclear programme.

"I will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, starting with aggressive, principled and direct diplomacy - diplomacy backed with strong sanctions and without preconditions," Obama said.


A Washington Post-ABC poll released late Monday showed that Americans were evenly divided between the Iraq strategies of the two presumptive candidates.

But when it came to either candidate's capability as an effective commander in chief, McCain won hands down with a 72-percent positive rating. Obama only received a 48 percent thumbs-up on his capability as the nation's top military officer.

Obama's speech also focused on keeping nuclear weapons from terrorists, achieving energy security and rebuilding US alliances with other countries.

Source : Indo-Asian News Service



The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex continued its down-slide on Wednesday by losing over 100 points at close on persistent selling pressure amid ongoing political crisis. As Corporate India, which has grown globally in stature, is still a far cry from the professional management as family-owned monoliths in the country still prefer insiders and relatives over better qualified outsiders and squabble unproductively, says US magazine Newsweek. Commenting on the bitter battle between Ambani siblings, the publication said in its latest issue that the feud further underscores the need for the businesses to outgrow from their mostly family-run setups.

Unipolar US Corporate Imperialism and realliance of Zionist, Hindu white manusmriti apartheid forces against all Indigenous enslaved communities worldwide is the themesong of the ongoing Nuke Opera whatsoever the Acors prononce on stage!

Parsvnath Developers Ltd will invest 4 billion rupees in a knowledge city project in north India, which will be completed over the next 10 years, its chairman said on Wednesday.

By Shobhana Chandra July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Prices paid by US consumers jumped in June by the most since 2005 on spiraling costs for fuel and food, intensifying the pressure on households struggling with falling home prices and the credit crunch.

Pelosi Statement on Today's Record Drop in Oil Prices

Somnath not ready to reconcile, to chair trust vote

Diptosh Majumdar / CNN-IBN



Published on Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 20:30, Updated at Wed, Jul 16, 2008 in Nation section

Tags: Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker , New Delhi
E-mail this report | Print this report



NOTHING TO LISTEN: Even Jyoti Basu, who is also Chatterjee's mentor, has failed to mollify him.





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Somnath speaks his minds, takes a stand against party

Keywords: Jyoti Basu, Trust Vote

New Delhi: It seems that at least for the moment Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has triumphed over his opponents within his party - the Communist Party of India-Marxist.


The Speaker will be there when the Vote of Confidence takes place on July 22.


Chatterjee is angry and his outburst is not because he has an unruly Lok Sabha to control. His anger is directed at his own party for trying to force him out of Speaker's post without keeping him in the loop.


Chatterjee believes he cannot be pushed out of a constitutional post in this manner. But his party says they didn't exactly ride roughshod over him.


"When the name was submitted to the President it should have been submitted with a mark saying that he is currently the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Putting the mark and not saying that was not done inadvertently," Sitaram Yechury, CPI-M Politburo member, said.


Even intercession by the party patriarch, Jyoti Basu, who is also Chatterjee's mentor, has failed to mollify him.


If he quits before the Vote of Confidence, he'll not only give up his Speaker's job, he'll even give up his Member of Parliament seat.


In fact, sources close to the Speaker have told CNN-IBN that he is even planning to quit the party.


Basu, of course, has been requested to try and convince Chatterjee once more that he should respect the party line.


But the Speaker is in no mood to relent.


In fact, quite by coincidence, it is Jyoti Basu's supporters who are making a fuss over having to vote alongside the Bharatiya Janata Party in the floor test.


West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty, who is also a Basu loyalist, said, "I cannot be happy if circumstances lead to such a position that the CPI-M and BJP come together and take a decision to fight and to bring down the UPA Government."


The Speaker is away for two days for a medical check-up in Hyderabad.


But his fate may be decided by the crucial Central committee meeting this weekend.


He never had too many supporters in the party but the party leadership believes that a confrontation with a man of his stature is best avoidable at the moment.


Last update: 9:18 p.m. EDT July 15, 2008
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this evening on the record drop in oil prices today -- the largest drop in 17 years:
"Today, the price of oil per barrel dropped $6.44 in one day -- the second highest one-day drop in history -- when the Federal Reserve Chairman predicted lower U.S. oil consumption. The biggest drop in history came 17 years ago, when President George H.W. Bush released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1991 and the price per barrel dropped 34 percent in one day.
"President Bush tells us that there are no quick fixes -- but history proves otherwise. President Bush should free our oil by releasing a small amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and bring the price down further. Obstinance does nothing to help Americans struggling with record gas prices and a host of economic concerns."
SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pelosi-statement-todays-record-drop/story.aspx?guid=%7B67D2C259-3FFD-42D6-A695-B107AD9765DF%7D&dist=hppr

IAEA has no obligation on fuel supplies or building strategic reserves: Karat



Vinay Kumar



Assurances by government in Parliament and outside have not been fulfilled, says Left





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There is only a vague mention of corrective measures in preamble”

Statement says the Left parties’ concerns are not addressed


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



NEW DELHI: The Left parties on Friday maintained that the government’s move to go ahead with the IAEA safeguards agreement would be harmful to India’s interests.

They said it was clear that the agreement did not address the fundamental problems in the controversial Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement with the U.S. on civilian nuclear cooperation.

“It did not take much for us to study the safeguards agreement. There is nothing unexpected in it and we asked the government not to go ahead with it because it is one step forward in operationalising the 123 Agreement,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat told journalists at a press conference.

His senior party colleague and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, CPI national secretary D. Raja, and G. Devarajan of the Forward Bloc were present.

Fuel supply


Mr. Karat said the safeguards agreement did not take care of fuel supply, strategic reserves and corrective measures regarding fuel supply. He said that as a regulatory body, the International Atomic Energy Agency had no obligation on either fuel supplies or building strategic reserves.

“As a result of operationalising the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal, India will place its costly imported reactors under perpetual IAEA safeguards and risk their permanent shutdown in case it fails to toe the U.S. line on foreign policy issues,” a joint statement by the general secretaries of the CPI(M), the CPI, the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party of India said.

The four-page statement said the text of the safeguards agreement was “hidden” from the Left parties and people in order to suppress the fact that India “is about to bind its entire civilian nuclear energy programme into the IAEA safeguards in perpetuity without getting concrete assurances for uninterrupted fuel supply, right to build strategic reserves and right to take corrective steps in case fuel supplies are stopped.”

It said the so-called “India-specific safeguards” agreement sent to the IAEA Board of Governors made it clear that the repeated assurances by the UPA government in Parliament and outside, on securing uninterrupted fuel supply assurances and strategic fuel reserves, had not been fulfilled.

But for the facilities India proposed to put under the IAEA safeguards, it would be treated as a non-nuclear weapons state.

No special rights


“Clearly, India will not have any special rights in its safeguarded facilities and this directly contradicts the assurances given by the Prime Minister to Parliament. Nuclear weapon states, as defined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, have the right to take any facility out of safeguards, a right India will not have for the reactors it is offering to the IAEA for safeguards,” it pointed out.

The statement said there was only a vague mention of “corrective measures” in the preamble. As against the vagueness of the “corrective measures” figuring in the preamble, what was spelt out clearly in the body of the agreement was that India could withdraw its facilities from safeguards only if it was jointly agreed to between India and the IAEA and if these facilities were no longer usable for any nuclear activity.

Posing a key question with respect to the IAEA safeguards, the Left wondered how it could be ensured that once India’s civilian reactors came under safeguards in perpetuity, the country would not be blackmailed by withholding of nuclear fuel supplies, as the U.S. did in Tarapur following Pokhran-I.

The Left said the final arbiter of any interpretation of the agreement and dispute settlement was the IAEA Board of Governors, whose decision would be final.

“If India is held non-compliant, though it is not so by its own interpretation, it can be referred to the Security Council for action, including sanctions. The Iran case is an example.”

The statement said the Left parties’ concerns were not addressed. These are:

“In case the U.S. or other countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) renege on fuel supply assurances for imported reactors, will India have the ability to withdraw these reactors from the IAEA safeguards? If the U.S./NSG countries renege on fuel supply assurances, can we withdraw our indigenous civilian reactors from the IAEA safeguards? What are the corrective steps India can take if fuel supplies are interrupted by the U.S./NSG countries?

“What are the conditions that India must fulfil if corrective steps are to be put into operation? If we have to bring nuclear fuel from the non-safeguarded part of our nuclear programme for these reactors in case of fuel supply assurances not being fulfilled, will we have the ability to take it back again?

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/12/stories/2008071260361200.htm


Political realignment over N-deal
A section of UPA leaders are advising the govt against angering key outside supporters in view of the next Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi: A political realignment over Indo-US nuclear deal appears on cards as the Congress makes hectic efforts to reach out to new parties, including Samajwadi Party (SP), to bail out the UPA government in the event of withdrawal of support by Left parties.

Samajwadi Party, which has 39 members in Lok Sabha, is gradually becoming a foe-turned-friend for Congress which seeks to extend the lifeline of the coalition government headed by it if the Left pulls the plug.

Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh, whose party has three members in the Lok Sabha, has already had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and H D Devegowda-led JD(S) is also being seen as an ally by the ruling party.

UPA sources say Samajwadi Party has been driving a hard bargain but SP leaders are coy about any 'deal' with Congress on the nuclear deal.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a meeting with Agriculture Minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday, after which the two leaders left for foreign tours -- Mukherjee to Egypt and Pawar to Dubai.

Pawar also had a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat on Monday night.

While Left leaders are chalking out the strategy on July four, a section of UPA leaders are advising against angering the key outside supporters in view of the feeling that their help would also be needed after next Lok Sabha elections.

This section feels that the next meeting of UPA-Left committee could be held anytime between 12 to 15 July.



No rift between Karat, Yechuri: CPI
"The reports are baseless," CPI secretary Raja said, referring to media reports that CPI-M politburo member Yechury was opposed to the four Left parties voting against the Manmohan Singh government in the July 22 trust vote

Chennai: There was no rift between Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury over the Left's decision to withdraw support to the government, Communist Party of India (CPI) secretary D. Raja said here Wednesday.

"The reports are baseless," Raja said, referring to media reports that CPI-M politburo member Yechury was opposed to the four Left parties voting against the Manmohan Singh government in the July 22 trust vote.

"He (Yechury) is with us. There is no difference of opinion among the Left on the issue."

Yechury himself last week denied differences with CPI-M general secretary Karat. Some media reports interpreted his trip to Britain for an event organised by the British parliament as signaling his disapproval over the CPI-M move to withdraw its backing to the government when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was away in Japan to attend the G8 summit.

Raja, here to address a public meeting to explain the four Left parties' opposition to the India-US deal, was talking to the media at the airport.

Answering criticism that the Left's withdrawal of support to the Manmohan Singh government could strengthen the BJP, Raja reiterated: "We will be the first to oppose the communal BJP. It is unfair to say that we have joined hands with the BJP to dislodge the UPA government."


Raja blamed the prime minister squarely "for the present situation", saying he "has a single point agenda" to push the nuclear deal.

"We are pursuing our own policy against the deal," he said

Don't expect any dramatic change in inflation: RBI
Reddy is said to have replied it was not proper to compare India with developed countries and the situation here was not as bad as in some other developing countries

New Delhi: Painting a grim picture of the evolving situation on the price front, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor YV Reddy on told Members of Parliament (MPs) that the situation was unlikely to improve dramatically anytime soon.

An MP who attended the three-hour meeting with the RBI brass quoted Reddy as saying that the world economy had slipped into a state of "stagflation", a situation characterised by high inflation and low economic growth. Inflation in the Euro zone hit 4 per cent in June and the growth in the bloc is expected to slow sharply.

In India, economists have forecast that the inflation rate would average more than 10 per cent in the current fiscal, 2008-09, and have lowered their growth rate expectation to around 7.5 per cent, from 8.5-9 per cent earlier.

Reddy and Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan were briefing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on the inflationary situation and the measures taken by the central bank to curb prices and dampen inflationary expectations.

Some committee members asked Reddy why India was facing a double-digit inflation when the western countries had been able to contain their inflation rates in the range of 3-4 per cent.

Compare the comparables

Reddy is said to have replied it was not proper to compare India with developed countries and the situation here was not as bad as in some other developing countries.

The members of the committee chaired by BJP MP Ananth Kumar also expressed concern over the increasing burden on home loan borrowers due to rising interest rates and questioned the effectiveness of interest rate hikes in curbing inflation.

The RBI is scheduled to review the monetary policy on July 29. Some analysts have forecast another round of rate increases by the central bank. Last month, it had raised the cash reserve ratio and the repo rate by 50 basis points each.

Another member of the committee Business Standard spoke with said while the central bank was creating a "liquidity crunch" within the country by squeezing the money supply, it continued to allow higher capital inflows into the stock market, which is adding to inflationary pressures.

Headline inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index, crossed the RBI's comfort level of 5.5 per cent in mid-February this year and accelerated to near 12 per cent this June, driven mainly by higher food and commodity prices.

Global crude oil prices, which have touched a record high, forced the government to raise retail fuel prices in the first week of June further pushing the present inflation rate up.

Source: Business Standard

Gold glitters like never before
Weakening dollar pushes gold to all-time high. Inherently gold has proved as a safeguarding pill in case of global financial crisis

Mumbai: Dollar weakness boosted gold to its lifetime high in India, while the yellow metal rose to a three-month high in London primarily on heightened tensions over Iran and fears of a fresh meltdown in the US financial markets.

Quoted at $980.3 an ounce (oz) in early afternoon trade, standard gold closed in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazar at Rs 13,680 per 10 gram, a rise of Rs 370 from the previous close. Similarly, pure gold closed with a similar gain at Rs 13,730 per 10 gram. Dollar is currently trading at 43.23 against rupee, a rise of about 110 per cent since the peak of gold price early this year.

"Inherently, gold has proved as a safeguarding pill in case of global financial crisis. At this level, however, profit booking is imminent. Therefore, there is the possibility of a correction in price," said Prithviraj Kothari, Director of Riddhi Siddhi Bullion. According to an analyst, a further rise in the prices of gold is inevitable as tension between Israel and Iran is mounting.

Disruption in petroleum shipments

Speculation is rife that Israel may attack Iran, leading to disruption in Persian Gulf petroleum shipments. This may result in oil reaching a new high.

The meltdown in the global financial sector continues to highlight one of gold's greatest attributes as the safe haven for investment. The yellow metal is referred to as the only money that is no one's liability.

"Gold continued to remain as the portfolio diversifier as the metal has offered a return of 14 per cent this year so far against 42 per cent negative return offered by Nifty. Other asset classes have offered negative return in the last year. Commodities like crude oil and other means of energy are trading near lifetime highs. Hence, funds are diverted towards gold," said Harish Galipelli, Research Head of Karvy Komtrade.


Source: Business Standard



Somnath defiant, Left firm about resignation

Manoj C G
Posted online: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 09:25:29
Updated: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 09:21:21
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Somnath-holds-out--Left-ponders-ways-to-make-him-toe-party-line/336301/

New Delhi, July 16: Somnath Chatterjee’s reluctance to step down as Speaker in open defiance of a diktat by his party CPM on Tuesday became the nucleus of the political showdown between the Congress and the Left barely a week ahead of the trust vote in Parliament.
While the CPM remained firm that he should resign, an embattled Chatterjee got support from other quarters. The Samajwadi Party asked him to stay on, saying he was “the representative of the entire House”, and the Congress indicated that it too had no problem if he remained in office.

The BJP, on the other hand, said the tussle only showed the 'contradictions within' the CPM and it was up to the Speaker and his party to decide on his continuance in office.

Sources in the CPM said the Speaker’s insistence to continue will now be discussed at the party’s Central Committee meeting in New Delhi on July 19. This came amid reports that Chatterjee had written a letter to CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, indicating his unwillingness to resign and his inability to vote along with the BJP during the July 22 trust vote. He is also learnt to have conveyed to the party leadership that if made to go, he will also quit as MP.

Asked about the letter by Chatterjee, Karat said “we don’t write letters.”

But a senior CPM politburo member, contacted by The Indian Express, said the party had received the letter. He would not divulge the details, saying it was an internal organisational matter.

Though mulling ways to make Chatterjee fall in line, the CPM continues to insist in public that it never asked the Speaker to step down. “I have already made a statement that the Speaker will decide for himself. I have nothing more to say,” Karat said.

Chatterjee’s stance is seen an an indication of a bigger churning in the party against the decision to vote alongside the BJP. In his capacity as a CPM MP, Chatterjee is said to have reminded the party leadership of the political resolution adopted at the CPM congress in Coimbatore which called for continuing the fight against the BJP.

Senior CPM member Sitaram Yechury continued his efforts to persuade Chatterjee who is upset with the party’s decision to include his name, without consulting him, in the list of MPs who have withdrawn support to the UPA government.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and senior leader Ram Gopal Yadav met Chatterjee today and requested him not to step down as Speaker.

“We had come to meet Somnath Chatterjee with a message from our party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav who asked us to request him not to quit as Speaker as he had been elected to the post unanimously,” said Amar Singh after his meeting with Chatterjee.

The SP leaders said Chatterjee was “not just a representative of his party but the representative of the entire House” and should not quit from his post.

What does the N-deal have to do with Muslims?

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080057250

Mohammad Sajjad
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 (New Delhi)
With the accentuation of the current political crisis - on the issue of the nuclear deal with the USA - an unlikely question has also been raised: what is the position of the Indian Muslims on the deal?

This particular question has got more attention with a statement of Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh that some of the important Muslim theologians of certain Islamic institutions of Uttar Pradesh have expressed their approval for the deal. Do the theologians give their opinions on non-religious issues? Are they competent enough to elaborate upon the implications of the nuclear deal?

At the very outset it should be made amply clear that a particular religious or social group should not have any specific position on this issue. The deal may be good or bad certainly, but not for a religion/religious community. Equally for every layman to understand that the deal would be useful or harmful uniformly for all the people of a nation.

So, why did this question emerge? It emerged because the Left Front is resisting the deal tooth and nail; and its consistently strident opposition to the majoritarian anti- Muslim communal politics in India (represented by political formations like the BJP, Shiv Sena) is something that attracts the Muslim vote.

Similarly, the Samajwadi (literally socialist but in practice its politics hardly go beyond narrow casteism) Party also expects significant support from among the Muslim electorate. Amar Singh therefore insisted on propagating that he has obtained a 'no-objection-certificate' from the Muslim theologians. It sounded quite ridiculous because: (a) theologians are no experts on the economic and political impact of the nuclear deal, they are rather meant to express their opinion strictly on theological issues, (b) the debate around the nuclear issue has been taking place in Parliament and in media for the last two years and even more. Yet, the 39 members of the Samajwadi Party in the Lok Sabha preferred to remain blissfully ignorant and chose to understand its implications only after having decided to extend support to the Congress-led ruling coalition of the UPA.

The whole nation is watching this obnoxious exercise in political opportunism. It is indeed a matter of great concern that huge amount of public money spent on the parliamentarians has been thrown down the drain by these 39 MPs who chose not to take a position on the issue for more than two years and ultimately expressed their approval of the deal not because of its usefulness for the nation but in greed of power. And this greed of power is sought to be covered up in the name of keeping communal forces at bay.

Conversely, the high ideal of secularism is (once again) being prostituted by them, for their own narrow political interests. Not only the political rivals but also the media has amply demonstrated the fact that the Samajwadi Party has come to the rescue of the UPA government with certain corporate objectives. Certain interests will have to be protected in exchange of support to the UPA. Moreover, coming closer to the ruling coalition will help them raise funds for the next elections particularly when the BSP, led by b te noir Mayawati is in power in its home turf Uttar Pradesh.

USA is the leading global imperialist power subjecting many sovereign (read Muslim) countries (like Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran etc. and demonizing Islam as being the ideological source of terrorism across the globe particularly since the attack on the WTC on 11th September 2001) to all kinds of victimization, and therefore India's friendship with the USA might probably be seen with some apprehension by a section of the Indian Muslims. But even that probable apprehension has not been expressed or articulated by any significant Muslim leader/institution. If at all Urdu and Indian Muslims could be presumed to be synonymous, then the stands articulated in the Urdu media may be taken as an indicator of Muslim opinion. To the best of my knowledge, no Urdu newspaper has taken a position on the issue from a sectional perspective of Indian Muslims. Certain reported clauses in the nuclear deal are reported to be hinting that the signatory nation will have to extend its support to the USA if it decides to attack some (West Asian) countries. It might worry the Muslims. Nevertheless, the moot question is whether the Muslim theologians are aware of it. In all probability, the answer is a big NO.

Now, coming to the issue of the deal itself: it is rather surprising that the Left Front, during the last two years did not feel like educating the masses about its reservations against the deal, through vernacular print and electronic media or through public meetings in educational campuses and street corners. It has left the common people substantially ignorant and confused about the implications of the deal.

Analysts are already saying that the Left had to divorce the UPA anyway by this time, as they have to contest against the Congress in the next general elections.

Moreover, the report card of the Left is very poor among Muslims, because 65% of the forcefully dispossessed peasants in Nandigram and Singur of West Bengal happen to be Muslims.

The sad fact is that quite a substantial section of the politically informed citizens are ignorant/ confused about the implications of the deal. Then what to say of the 'poor' theologians? The politically motivated opinions are simply adding to the people's confusion and disgust.

The leading opposition BJP's opinion against the deal is supposed to be a dishonest product of their desperation about the fall of the UPA (and facilitating them to grab power in the midst of rising inflation and the UPA's worrying helplessness to contain it). Otherwise, the BJP-led NDA government (1999-2004) is alleged to have shown its unambiguous propensity toward the deal. Even though every political party is claiming to speak (on the nuclear issue) in the interest of the nation, the common perception is gaining strong ground that all these opinions are motivated more by electoral considerations (as the next Lok Sabha elections are to be held in April 2009), and that the USA can't be so magnanimous toward solving India's energy requirements only out of selfless friendship. The common electorate has apprehensions that the USA must be charging a heavy/unbearable price for it.

Sections of the media/politicians should therefore spare the Indian Muslims on the nuclear issue. Let all the citizens (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains ) be educated on the issue strictly as free citizens.

(Mohammad Sajjad is a lecturer in History at the Aligarh Muslim University. The views expressed here are his own. NDTV.com takes no responsibility for the views expressed in the article.)


CPM tries to douse one fire, RSP lights another

Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, July 15: The CPI-M central committee today sought an explanation from West Bengal transport minister and CPI-M state secretariat member Mr Subhash Chakraborty for his statement questioning the rationale of the party decision on the trust vote in the Lok Sabha and airing the view that Speaker Mr Somnath Chatterjee be allowed to continue in office. But the fissures within the Left ~ around issues as well as personalities ~ stood out in sharp relief when RSP and senior Left Front Mr Kshiti Goswami, who is also a Cabinet minister, criticised both Mr Chakraborty and Mr Chatterjee for "discrediting" the CPI-M's general secretary Mr Prakesh Karat and his "post".
"The issue of party discipline is common to all Communist parties. The post of the general secretary in a Communist party is a prestigious one and should not be discredited in this manner," said Mr Goswami. While Mr Chakraborty came under fire for expressing his opinion "outside party fora", the Speaker was bluntly reminded by Mr Goswami that he had been elected on the party symbol and common manifesto of the Left Front, not just the CPI-M.
"All four Left parties decided together to put forward his name as Speaker. Similarly, the list of MPs (owing political allegiance to the CPI-M and the Left Front) with Mr Chatterjee's name was submitted to the President when we decided collectively to withdraw support from the UPA government," Mr Goswami said. According to him, the question should have been settled within the party and the Left Front and the apparent refusal of the Speaker to quit when reportedly asked to by his party general secretary amounted to an "act of indiscipline". This has raised questions about the discipline of the Communists and has shaken the confidence of our followers, he said.
The RSP also lambasted some Left leaders who have been hinting that they were in favour of abstaining during the trust vote. "The UPA has done nothing to stop the spread of communal parties. They have failed to stop the BJP from coming to power in most states, yet they have tried to hold on to our support on the argument that communal forces must be kept at bay," Mr Goswami said, reacting to a query ~ also been raised by Mr Chatterjee and Mr Chakraborty ~ on how he could justify voting with the BJP to topple the government.
Trinamul chief Miss Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, said propriety and parliamentary convention demand that the Speaker quit his post as he is a lawmaker belonging to a party which is no longer a ruling or supporting party. "I don't have any personal enmity against him but he should resign," she said. She added: "He was not elected Speaker unanimously. I did not support his candidature. I may have been alone (the lone MP) but I did not support him.”

Left slams PM-Mukesh meet, PMO hits back

Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, July 15: A day after Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mr Mukesh Ambani meeting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Left criticised the PMO for acting as a "the conciliation office" for corporates. The PMO today made it clear that there was no question of Dr Singh getting involved in corporate affairs and that his meeting with Mr Ambani was part of his regular interaction with industry leaders.
“The PMO should not become the conciliation office for warring corporates, however desperate the ruling party may be to retain power,” the CPI-M Politburo said in a terse, hard-hitting statement today, a charge strongly dismissed by the Prime Minister’s Office. “The corporate houses are openly in the fray to lobby their interests in the run up to the confidence vote,” the CPI-M statement said, noting that a “dangerous precedent” has been set with the Prime Minister “being asked to personally intervene to mediate between the Ambani brothers”. The CPI also deplored the “involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office and the PM in corporate wars”.
The CPI-M’s statement clearly referred to SP general secretary Mr Amar Singh’s recent controversial suggestion asking the PM to mediate for a rapprochement between the Ambani brothers for the health of the country’s economy. In the Congress circles, Mr Singh is thought to be gunning for Mukesh while holding a brief for younger brother Anil.
The PMO, however, immediately rejected reports and the Left’s suggestions that the PM was intervening in the feud between Ambani brothers. “People of India know Manmohan Singh better than to believe that he would get involved in corporate affairs” PM’s media advisor Mr Sanjaya Baru, said. On the controversy gripping the Mukesh-PM meeting, he said: “PM meets corporate leaders all the time to discuss national economic issues as any leader of modern economy would.”
Iran-Teheran tussle
The Congress today condemned any "unilateral military action" against Iran while the CPI-M urged the Centre to end military ties with Israel if it was "really concerned" about Teheran. "Talk of military options and pre-emptive strikes should be avoided," Congress general-secretary Mr M Veerappa Moily said here. But the CPI-M said New Delhi should call off its military ties with Tel Aviv if it had genuine concerns for Iran.



A K Bhattacharya: Birds of the same feather

NEW DELHI DIARY

A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi July 16, 2008, 4:27 IST

http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=328811



Political developments in the last few weeks may eventually help save the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and allow it to conclude the India-US civilian nuclear deal. But these very developments are bound to make every Indian a little uneasy about the state of politics in this country. A coalition government does require political parties with different ideologies to forge an alliance based on some common policies and principles. But what one saw in the last few weeks was something different. This requires elaboration.


The Left has been opposed to the India-US civilian nuclear deal right from the day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had hammered out an agreement with US President George Bush last year. The Left was not just opposed to the deal. It had threatened to withdraw support to the government if Manmohan Singh went ahead with the deal. So, when the UPA government did go ahead with the deal early this month, the Left withdrew its support. That stance of the Left was completely understandable. What one could not understand was the Left's untiring efforts, subsequently, to pull down the government even if that meant being on the same boat as its arch enemy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

There were even reports that a senior Left leader did not discount the possibility of his party supporting a BJP-led coalition at the Centre, provided the saffron party shed its "communal agenda". That statement has not yet been challenged or contradicted by the Left parties or the leader in question. A few days later, the CPI-M general secretary visited BSP boss Mayawati, sparking off rumours that the Left might even consider seeking her support with a view to defeating the UPA government. The Left's opposition to the India-US civil nuclear deal was at least consistent and arose from its belief and ideological position. But the stance of the BJP (which acknowledges the US to be India's strategic partner) on the India-US civil nuclear deal has been wholly inconsistent. And the BSP is not yet known for its views on this issue.

So, it was difficult to understand why the Left would even think of joining hands with these two parties to defeat the UPA. The only explanation was that the Left was so piqued by the Congress' insistence on the deal that it wanted to teach the Manmohan Singh government a lesson by defeating it on the floor of the Lok Sabha. But was that a mature response from the Left? Perhaps, a more principled stand would have been to withdraw support to the UPA and not look for any alliance that might seem opportunistic with the sole aim of defeating a government. This is a view that has come from some Left leaders in Bengal, who have expressed their apprehensions about adverse electoral consequences of voting along with BJP to defeat the UPA government.

Even the Constitutionally sacred position of the Lok Sabha Speaker was not spared from such politically embarrassing initiatives. The Left parties included the name of the Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, in the list of the members of Parliament submitted to the President while withdrawing support to the government. Worse, sufficient pressure was exerted on the Speaker to resign from his position. So far, the Speaker has managed to resist such pressure. Within the Left, senior leaders from Bengal have questioned the need for seeking Mr Chatterjee's resignation particularly when he was appointed to that position unanimously. But the Left wants to claim Mr Chatterjee as a Lok Sabha member when the trust votes are counted in the Lok Sabha next week. Compulsions of politics can indeed force a political party to throw all principles and conventions to the wind. That this could happen even to the Left is a major disappointment.

No less disappointing has been the conduct of the Samajwadi Party (SP), which bailed the Congress out by promising it the crucial support. It used APJ Abdul Kalam's endorsement of the India-US civil nuclear deal, among other things, to convince itself and its political constituency that all was well with the pact. It has shown no qualms about airing its economic agenda, which seems to be a slightly reworded agenda of a major industrial house. That this agenda is not just to benefit that industrial house but also to place its rivals in a disadvantageous position makes it shameful. The UPA government may have bought more trouble than it had bargained for by seeking the SP's support. It has to pay a price for having got the SP's support to save the nuclear deal. But the point to be noted is that the SP's behaviour in this ongoing political drama does not surprise anyone. But the Left's behaviour does make one wonder if all political parties in this country have now become indistinguishable from each other — banking less on principles and more on opportunism.





Story Comments Total Post : 2

Posted By : abntakle on 16 July,2008
A K Bhattacharya's analysis is pathetic . The CPM knew fully well when extending support in 2004 that ManMohan Singh wanted to proceed with a Nuclear & Strategic alliance with US , so why did it extend support then ? A valiant attempt of the Bengali/ keralite Mafia in the English Media to project what are just pain old Super Parochial Bengali/ Keralite Senas(CPM+CPI+RSP+FB) -which could teach the Shiv Sena/MNS extreme parochialism - as the epitome of intelligence ,honesty and cosmopolitan


Posted By : phazra on 16 July,2008
The principleless political parties like Lefts,BSP and SP, all have been doing what, is nothing but an opportinistic approach to the UPA.It is surprising that they do not possess any strong determination and thorough knowledge respect to any national issue of importance.They have played false with the UPA shamelessly without considering the wellness of N-deal.Our political parties very often behaveike 'Birds of a feather flocks together