UPA
Official statement on Withdrawal of Support by the Left
Press Statement
The Left parties have issued the following statement:
On Withdrawal of Support to the UPA Government
The Left Parties have withdrawn support to the UPA Government. The UPA Government came into existence in 2004 with the support of the Left parties on the basis of its Common Minimum Programme. The aim was to fight the communal forces and undo the damage they had done to the secular polity of India in their years in office. This required a set of interlinked policies to bring relief to the people, to protect India's integrity and to pursue an independent foreign policy. By going ahead with the deal at a time when there is the crushing burden of price-rise and galloping inflation, the Manmohan Singh Government has clearly shown that it is more concerned about fulfilling its commitment to the Bush administration rather than meeting its commitment to the people of India.
Left parties withdraw support to the UPA government
In a decision that is set to rock the foundation of the UPA government, the Left parties which had supported the government for the past 4 years have decided to withdraw the same over the issue of operationalisation of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. Pragoti carries the latest statement by the left parties which have come about as the same time as the withdrawal of support: “IAEA Text — Why Keep it Secret?”. A letter to Pranab Mukherjee is also carried in this report. Courtesy: “News from the CPI(M)” Mailer.
How US is manipulating oil prices, and how UPA still wants to embrace it
India seems to be moving through one of the most bizarre phases of its history. The common man – aam admi – is reeling under the heavy burden of high rates of inflation not seen in recent times. The leaders of the UPA coalition openly admit that come Friday – they shudder at the prospect of burgeoning inflation figure which shows no signs of respite. And despite that, the obsession with nuclear deal goes on with an air of insensitivity which has very few parallels?
A return to the murky past
In a dramatic fortnight, the parliamentary arithmetic in India has been manipulated in a manner that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by prime minister Manmohan Singh is now able to muster enough support more or less to push through its pet project: the Indo-US nuclear deal. What has changed between now and a fortnight ago is merely one factor — the sudden volte face of the Samajwadi Party which boasts of 39 members of parliament on the issue of the nuclear deal. From having excoriated the government for having betrayed the nation's independent foreign policy on the nuclear deal, today, the SP has come out in support of the deal. What explains this shift?
"Why this sudden obsession with what other countries may think?" -- MK Bhadrakumar speaks
MK Bhadrakumar has parlayed a distinguished career in the Indian Foreign Service, with postings in Moscow, Seoul, Colombo, Bonn, Islamabad, Tashkent and Ankara into his current eminence as one of the country's foremost thinkers on foreign affairs. In a scathing email interview with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, he says, "the remaining eight or nine months of stable governance and a programmatic approach in the run-up to the April 2009 elections -- that is what is needed. Instead, what do we see? The prime minister can have a pleasant meeting with George W Bush on the sidelines of the G-8. Doesn't it sound pathetic?"Courtesy, www.rediff.com.
We live in interesting times
Sitaram Yechury cautions the UPA about breaking the premise on which the Common Minimum Programme is based; that of charting an independent foreign policy for the country. Any digression from this charted path would only result in the death of the government and the second coming of the communal forces into power. Article courtesy The Hindustan Times. Cartoon courtesy, The Hindu newspaper.
Short-sighted adventurism
The party that leads the United Progressive Alliance government is in a state of moral and political confusion. Demoralised by a string of Assembly election defeats, notably in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka, and besieged by economic and political troubles, the Congress has absolutely no idea where it is going. Perhaps feeling that it has nothing to lose during the murky period leading up to the 15th general election, which must be held no later than April-May 2009, it has resorted to political adventurism.
Courtesy: The Hindu
Nuclear Deal: Left Will Not Compromise
The CPI(M) and the Left parties have consistently opposed the nuclear deal on the basis that the Hyde Act on which the 123 Agreement is based nullifies all the assurances given by the prime minister in August 2006 in parliament. The nuclear deal has wide-ranging ramifications for India's foreign policy and security affairs.
It is astonishing that the UPA government and the Congress leadership have sought to push through a strategic alliance with the United States when it knows very well that the Left will never be party to this. The conflict began with the signing of the Defence Framework Agreement in June 2005 and the struggle of the Left to prevent such a strategic alliance cemented through the nuclear deal has been waged for the last three years.
Hence there will be no compromise on the issue of the government approaching the IAEA Board for approval of the Safeguards Agreement.
Congress-Left near break-up on nuclear deal
Elections indicated for November-December
A denouement of the crisis between the United Progressive Alliance government and the supporting Left parties on the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal is near at hand.
The front page feature of the Hindu dated 19th June 2008 is reproduced here.
Make the IAEA agreement public
The UPA government has expressed its unwillingness to share the safeguards agreement even with its political allies, on the ground that it has not been sent yet to the IAEA’s Board of Governors. This is an untenable argument. The UPA’s allies are being asked, in effect, to support an agreement sight unseen.
The editorial opinion from The Hindu dated 18th June 2008 is reproduced here.
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