Blog@GraceJunction

The Manmohan Singh government seeks a trust vote in the Lok Sabha today and the political drama in India has managed to attract widespread attention worldwide, as it will decide the fate of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Under this bilateral pact, the United States will provide India access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel in exchange for IAEA-safeguards on India’s civilian nuclear reactors.

A lot of time and energy was spent behind the passage of the Hyde Act in 2006. The leading opposition party BJP which laid the groundwork for the deal criticized the deal and does not want the government to accept the deal without a vote in the legislature. The Left too had withdrawn its support. The nuke deal has been scripted by Manmohan Singh but the political risk is almost that of Mrs. Gandhi. The possible UPA meltdown will be a hard blow for the party to bear. The loss could be terrible and a win might have a few downsides.

The last few weeks saw UPA MPs struggling hard to bring around JMM, SP and other independent MPs. Both RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) chief Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan back the UPA government’s stand about the nuke deal but with the opposition wooing its MPs with assurance to grant them tickets to contest the next Lok Sabha elections one wonders if all the MPs under their banner would vote for UPA. The rival camp on the other hand has been scrambling to make new friends and cement old alliances. The prime ministerial ambitions of Mayawati, CM Uttar Pradesh seem to be stoked with CPM boss Prakash Karat, TDP and TRS throwing weight behind her. Some party leaders have even issued ‘fatwa’ to their MPs for voting against UPA.

But how important would be nuclear power to India’s future? No one knows as the future is full of uncertainties but the nuke deal at least seems to be a great option to provide security of energy. Going by a detailed analysis carried out by MIT in 2003, nuclear power was any given day going to be more expensive than power based on coal or natural gases. Coal is a cheapest option as compared to non-renewable sources whose price have been sky rocketing off late. However, the massive greenhouse gases a coal based power emits, does not make coal to be seen as a long term option too.

The growing energy demands of the Indian economy and the global energy availability throw a messy uncertainty on our faces today and under these circumstances, signing the nuke deal seems to be the best bet. Well, the UPA was prepared to amend the Atomic Energy Act so as to introduce provisions in the law which would act as a buffer to the US Hyde Act. UPA did go out of its way and asked its oppositions about what they thought would provide a cushion against the implications they feared might crop up of the Hyde Act. Not much to my surprise, they had no clarity regarding the matter they were crying foul about. Such is the state of India Politicians!

Well, that’s my personal view about the nuke deal. I appreciate the long term thinking that has gone behind the step undertaken by the present govt. so much such that it has risked taking on the confidence vote in the parliament. The ruler of the present govt., whom, WE, the people of India chose to lead us on every sphere, seemingly wants well for the future of India - a future so full of uncertainties. But for preventing his party from suffering a meltdown, he is even going to lesser or hardly known independent MPs. He is struggling for his own (read his party’s) survival.

The situation sure is no less than a maelstrom. And with such political instability, the stock market will always remain uncertain, much to the dismay of an already inflation-battered nation. If you tell me that, “political drama such as these are nothing new for people who have been in politics for a long time…and such political situations do arise,”then I’m gonna tell you other wise.

I know of a ruler, who has never been uncertain about what his current move would lead to in the future. He also doesn’t require others to support or help Him, for He is self-sufficient. What more? The situation is always under-control when the nation is governed by Him. Don’t believe me?! Well, in that case, it is high time for you to check out the Bible!! I’m talking about Jesus, who when let to reign over you, makes sure that your future is secure and not otherwise…

Tags: BJP, Coal, Congress, IAEA-safeguards, Manmohan Singh, Nuclear energy, UPA

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 am and is filed under Articles, Economy, Politics, Relationships, Society, Sudha, Trends, Troubles & Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.