The Nuke deal

We are hearing a lot about the nuclear deal between India and the US these days. The left pulling support, BJP calling for no confidence motion, the Prime Minister getting emotional, Sonia Gandhi looking for a compromise, this that and what not. I am not going to get into the technicalities of the deal, as a lot have been said about the deal and I am not too sure about the entire details about the deal. I am just going to say what I feel is happening and what I feel should happen.

Is this deal good for India? Well right now India is struggling to meet its energy demands. Almost all the state run electricity boards are almost bankrupt and most states do not have the resources to buy power from the center. There are private players in this sector and they are working in a satisfactory manner. Our energy needs can’t be met with these alone. The future lies in nuclear energy and without which there is no way in hell that we can move forward. To have a double digit growth energy is vital.

The present nuclear deal between India and the US is the best that India can get. It’s basically now or never. If the deal slips through two things are likely to happen. One, India's credibility in the world will be tarnished, which in turn will affect other international deals. Secondly the next US government would not be as kind to us as the present US government. They would at the very least make modifications to the deal or scrap it all together. So if people are expecting a better bargain then they are living in a world of their own.

If the deal is good why are the political parties all up in arms against it? The answer is very simple. Politics! Had the BJP been in power they would have gone through the deal with out any hesitation. The left, well they got serious issues. The communist in India are confused about their ideology. So as of now, their strategy is to oppose anything that is related to the US or the west, or any price rise without thinking about the need or benefit of the issue. So there is no surprise that they are opposing it. The little vote bank that they have in the country they are trying to retain it with an anti US stand and other ridiculous tactics.

In a democracy, the job of the opposition is to oppose and that’s the only reason why many parties are against the deal. This is the sad truth about the Indian democracy. This is the best system that we have and have to live with it until we find a better solution. The opposition will oppose anything that the government puts forward without thinking about the larger consequence of their actions. Our Democracy lacks strong men/women who would set politics aside and do what is best for the nation. There is no way that there can be any compromise when it comes to the nuclear deal. It’s way too late for that now. Even if the opposing parts believe in the nuclear deal, they can’t change their stand now as it will have severe consequences.

What’s the way forward? Right now I am pretty much neutral in terms of politics; do not support any political party as of now. If the congress goes ahead with the deal, and there is a strong chance of that happening, I would definitely be supporting congress in the next elections. It will give the congress a strong character, which quite frankly it lacks now. So according to me the congress should have a, screw the left kind of attitude, and move forward with the deal. The alliance with the left was a disaster waiting to happen from the beginning. The left will have to withdraw support. They won’t have any other choice. It does not matter if the elections happen in November or when the term of the government finishes, the congress is not going to come in power next time out, nor will most of its alleys. I do not see the government bringing down inflation in this term and I guess they know that too. I would not say that they have done a bad job, but they are a party which was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Early elections or late elections, the left is screwed any way. The only reason why the left had this much power during this term is because of their performance in West Bengal and Kerala, which this time out won’t come any way close to last time. It will certainly lose out in West Bengal and the congress will gain a few more seats than last time out in Kerala. Hence the timing of the elections won’t make much of a difference to the people in power.

So the Prime Minister should go ahead with the nuclear deal. He personally believes it’s good for the country. If not anything, we should give a person of Manmohan Singh’s stature the benefit of the doubt. As different permutations and combinations are being worked out by various political parties, for the sake of our nation I hope the deal is passed.