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The Indo-US Nuclear Deal is intended to meet energy requirements of India by granting it access to atomic fuel, technology and plants even though it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Under the agreement, India is allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel - something that is seen as a major concession and opposed by some members of the US Congress as well. Even if the accord allows Washington to terminate the agreement if India tested atomic weapons, and under Hyde Act, a US law, the nuclear agreement stands automatically annulled if India does so. It should not unduly worry the opponents of the Agreement as India has perfected its ability and technical know-how to carryout laboratory testing of nuclear devices.
There are no complaints from the Chinese about the Sino-US 123 Agreement. China prompting the Left to oppose the deal by resorting to threats of withdrawal of support is understandable. The BJP, in pursuit of power, prodding and goading the Left to drop the Manmohan Singh Govt is also not too difficult to comprehend. BJP has already said they are ready for elections if the communists withdraw support to the government.
The Left is wary of alienating their core constituency, made up mostly of peasants, blue-collar workers and Muslims. In the Left's perception, the first two are immediate casualties of the government's free-market style economic policies and the latter are opposed to US policy in the Arab and Muslim world, particularly Iraq and Iran. The communists want the government to stall the upcoming meetings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a follow-up to the deal. India desperately needs to reach key agreements with the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, after which the US Congress will vote on the deal. Stalling or calling off the deal may lead to the collapse of the Congress-led government, and isolation of India abroad. As a follow up of the agreement, Australia decided to sell uranium to India, overturning the country's long-standing rule of not exporting to non-signatory nations. We would need to thank Australia and say no we are not going ahead with the Agreement.
PM Manmohan Singh has rightly refused to back down from the deal and even challenged the communists to withdraw support for his government. According to him, the Agreement will open new doors to India across the world. He said the deal would not in any way affect India's right to carry out nuclear tests in the future or inhibit the country's nuclear weapons programme. All his assurances seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
All the same, India is a democracy and committed to pluralistic principles. Whether the country should operationalise the 123 Agreement in its present form or renegotiate its provisions, therefore, should be decided after the debate in the Parliament. It will be a sad day for the country if opponents to the deal are able to sabotage it before it has seen the light of day. The hapless Indians can thank themselves for electing leaders like those in the Left parties and the BJP.
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal is intended to meet energy requirements of India by granting it access to atomic fuel, technology and plants even though it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Under the agreement, India is allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel - something that is seen as a major concession and opposed by some members of the US Congress as well. Even if the accord allows Washington to terminate the agreement if India tested atomic weapons, and under Hyde Act, a US law, the nuclear agreement stands automatically annulled if India does so. It should not unduly worry the opponents of the Agreement as India has perfected its ability and technical know-how to carryout laboratory testing of nuclear devices.
There are no complaints from the Chinese about the Sino-US 123 Agreement. China prompting the Left to oppose the deal by resorting to threats of withdrawal of support is understandable. The BJP, in pursuit of power, prodding and goading the Left to drop the Manmohan Singh Govt is also not too difficult to comprehend. BJP has already said they are ready for elections if the communists withdraw support to the government.
The Left is wary of alienating their core constituency, made up mostly of peasants, blue-collar workers and Muslims. In the Left's perception, the first two are immediate casualties of the government's free-market style economic policies and the latter are opposed to US policy in the Arab and Muslim world, particularly Iraq and Iran. The communists want the government to stall the upcoming meetings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a follow-up to the deal. India desperately needs to reach key agreements with the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, after which the US Congress will vote on the deal. Stalling or calling off the deal may lead to the collapse of the Congress-led government, and isolation of India abroad. As a follow up of the agreement, Australia decided to sell uranium to India, overturning the country's long-standing rule of not exporting to non-signatory nations. We would need to thank Australia and say no we are not going ahead with the Agreement.
PM Manmohan Singh has rightly refused to back down from the deal and even challenged the communists to withdraw support for his government. According to him, the Agreement will open new doors to India across the world. He said the deal would not in any way affect India's right to carry out nuclear tests in the future or inhibit the country's nuclear weapons programme. All his assurances seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
All the same, India is a democracy and committed to pluralistic principles. Whether the country should operationalise the 123 Agreement in its present form or renegotiate its provisions, therefore, should be decided after the debate in the Parliament. It will be a sad day for the country if opponents to the deal are able to sabotage it before it has seen the light of day. The hapless Indians can thank themselves for electing leaders like those in the Left parties and the BJP.
1 comment:
take a look at this: http://desicritics.org/2007/04/28/160547.php
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