Nuke Deal Not a Family Matter

The Congress- led United Progressive Alliance government has decided to seek a vote of confidence in parliament on July 22 after the Marxist party withdrew its support on the contentious Nuclear pact.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is adamant in signing the deal with the US, has said that he will approach the International Atomic Energy Agency if the government wins the confidence motion. If not, his government will retract from the deal. It only means that his party, the Congress, will do all horse-trading in the limited time to keep the government afloat, be it giving some ministership to the minor political parties. The Samajwadi Party, which had earlier voiced concern over the deal, is now openly supporting Mannmohan Singh and his government. They have declared to vote with the government. There are also several minor parties who eye for a cabinet berth.

It is not a matter whether the Government wins through the confidence motion or not. But even if they win the motion, it would not be on the majority of the votes. It would be just on one or two votes margin that they would be wining the motion. Well, does it mean that they have the full confidence of the people of this country in signing the deal, when half of the legislators had voted against? This is absurdness on the part of the government.

Well, the question is about Confidence Motion and going to the IAEA, a paradox that has no parallels. Mr Manmohan Singh's utterance that he would withdraw from the nuke pact if his government fails the confidence notion is befooling the people of this country. The Nuke deal should have been made public and the government should have brought in a vivid discussion across the country on the subject. A debate on the subject should have initiated by the government involving academicians, nuclear scientists and politicians before its Prime Minister took an adamant stand on the issue. This nuclear deal is being signed between India and the US and not between Manmohan Singh or the Congress and George Bush. The way things move seems that it is a family matter between Manmohan Singh and Bush.

Well, if Manmohan Singh and his Congress party did not have anything to hide on the pact, why then they have not publicised it. But it seems that the congress and Manmohan has some hidden agenda behind the whole deal. Moreover, the deal could have been signed after a new government forms in US and also in India, where elections are due. What urgency is there in getting the deal through? Can't it be put on hold and debated across the country? India is a democratic country and it seems that people are losing their rights at the hands of some politicians, which should not be tolerated at any instance.

Even after getting Independence way back in 1947, India is still being channelised or ruled by some outside force; the ghost of yesteryears still clings on us. India has drifted a lot from its secular, social non-aligned, democratic and welfare aims. Our politicians have become puppets at the hands of some external forces.

The Marxist party and other eminent nuclear scientists have voiced their concern on the deal saying that it will compromise on the country's sovereignty and it will be a bolt on the country's self respect. The Marxists stand is appreciable in this but at the same instance deplorable. Appreciable in the sense that they have taken a bold stand upholding the country's cause and deplorable as this was not a situation to have withdrawn the support. Less than a year to go to the polls, this was not the right time for the Marxist to have left the government. Now the withdrawal doesn't seem to do any good as the Congress had enough time to bargain with other parties for clinching a support base. If the Marxists had withdrawn earlier, then it would have been called as a strong determination on their part. But this itself has only paved for the Congress party to have a foothold on the entire issue, may be paving the way for the nuclear deal. The Marxists, who had been with the Congress till now, have to pay a heavy price for supporting Manmohan Singh's government.