UPA's Survival On 22nd July? And Aftermath

[acharya]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>
Stay united, Sonia tells MPs</b>

Gargi Parsai

`Baseless to say deal is anti-Muslim'

NEW DELHI: Even as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government prepares itself to face a `make or break' trust vote on July 22, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met party MPs at her residence here on Saturday and asked them to close ranks to ensure the government's victory. She distributed to each MP a booklet, "Facts About India's Initiative For Seeking International Cooperation in Civil Nuclear Energy.''

The MPs who met the party president said she looked "confident.'' She explained to them the merits of the India- U.S. nuclear deal and urged them to take it to the people across the country as a "necessity'' to meet power shortage.

She allayed the apprehensions of some Muslim MPs, saying that it was "baseless'' to think the pact was "anti-Muslim.'' "She asked the MPs to stand solidly behind the government and vote decisively for it,'' party general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, told journalists here.

Four MPs from Uttar Pradesh - Manvendra Singh (Mathura), Rajesh Mishra (Varanasi), Brijendra Singh (Aligarh) and Surendra Goel (Ghaziabad) - who were said to have been "approached'' to change sides, held hands and declared that they were "here and together'' with the UPA. Although R.L. Jalappa of Karnataka, who had expressed his unhappiness with the State Congress, was amongst the MPs from his State who met Ms. Gandhi, three others - M.H. Ambareesh (Mandya), N.Y. Hanumanthappa (Chitradurga) and A. Venkatesh Naik (Raichur) - did not come.

A.F. Golam Osmani of Barpeta in Assam, Arvind Kumar Sharma of Karnal and Kuldeep Bishnoi of Bhiwani in Haryana were absent. Emerging from the meeting with the party chief, the Kanakpura MP, Tejaswini Gowda, denied rumours about her going against the government on the trust vote.

"How can I join the BJP. I am a strong follower of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. The nuclear deal is for the country and I support it fully.''

Senior leader Veerappa Moily said Ms. Gandhi's meeting with the MPs was "a matter of courtesy.'' Asked whether the Prime Minister could resign before a trust vote, he said, "The question does not arise as we will win.''
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[acharya]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>MPs can “correct” their vote on July 22</b>
Special Correspondent
Three BJP MPs in ICUs are to be “airlifted”
In case of an error, vote can be cast on a paper slip, Slips will be manually checked in case of a thin margin

NEW DELHI: Members of Parliament who make a mistake when pressing the crucial button on their tables during the trust vote on July 22 do get an opportunity to “correct” their vote, if they so desired.

At the end of the two-day debate on July 22 once the Speaker ordered the lobbies to be cleared to prepare for the vote, “MPs will be given exactly 10 seconds to press the button and vote electronically,” secretary general of the Lok Sabha P.D.T. Achary said. However, they would be able to see on a display board whether their vote has been registered or not and also whether they pressed the “green” for an ‘aye’ or a “red” for a “nay.” If the vote failed to register or some mistake was committed inadvertently, they could “immediately” ask for a paper slip to cast their vote.

Lok Sabha secretariat officials said in the case of a thin margin between ‘ayes’ and ‘nays’, the paper slips would be manually checked and counted before the Speaker announced the results.

If the margin of victory or defeat was large then the Speaker may announce the result immediately, but the final count of votes would take some time.

With every vote crucial, both camps are making extraordinary efforts to ensure that all their MPs are present. Three Bharatiya Janata Party MPs in ICUs in different hospitals are to be “airlifted” along with their doctors, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

However, of these three, one, that is film-star turned politician Dharmendra has reportedly telephoned the top party bosses to say it would not be possible for him to turn up as he is in hospital in the U.S. recovering after a knee-replacement surgery.

Apparently, the doctors of the other two MPs – Mahesh Kanodia and Harish Chandra Chauhan – are also reluctant to give the clearance for them to travel.
Special arrangements

The Lok Sabha secretariat told The Hindu that till Saturday evening the BJP had asked for “special arrangements” to be made for the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enable him to vote from the lobby of the Lok Sabha.

“No such request has as yet been made for any other MP,” a senior official said.

Hectic activity in both the camps has revolved around shoring up additional strength as well as on poaching from the “other” camp.

<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

BTW I just caught a glimpse of NDTV big fight and they had people from INC (lady i think Natarajan), BJP (Prakash ?) and a commie (didnt catch his name, i think he was an orc). INC/BJP fellows were ok, but this commie fellow was completely disgusting. Did anybody catch a glimpse of that ? Who was the orc ?

---

added : Not the old guy, the one in the beard, altho he was kind of hard to miss.

[acharya]

<b>Ajit Singh emerges key player</b>
Atiq Khan
Congress waiting for his final nod
RLD happy about renaming of airport, but keen on creation of Harit Pradesh
Mulayam against formation of another State, but Mayawati supports RLD demand

LUCKNOW: With only three MPs, all from Uttar Pradesh, Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal president has emerged as one of the key players in the July 22 trust vote in Parliament. The Congress, which claims to have secured his support, is waiting for the final nod.

Lucknow’s Amausi airport has just been named after his father, the former Prime Minister Charan Singh. However, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Friday underplayed the UPA government’s decision, saying the proposal sent by the Uttar Pradesh government to rename the airport had been pending for long. Mr. Ajit Singh and the RLD have welcomed the decision, but party leaders here are demanding that the Bharat Ratna be also conferred on Charan Singh.

As for creation of a separate State, Harit Pradesh, by carving out seven districts of western U.P., which RLD leaders say has remained the party’s pet agenda, the Congress has so far not approved the proposal. Nor does its current ally, the Samajwadi Party, favour the creation of another State.

When SP president Mulayam Singh was Chief Minister and Mr. Ajit Singh his coalition partner, the Harit Pradesh issue remained under wraps although it later became one of the factors in the RLD president’s decision to pull out of the coalition in December 2006.

However, the Harit Pradesh demand has found support in Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party president, Mayawati. She is on record on trifurcation of the State into Purvanchal (eastern U.P.), Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. Mr. Ajit Singh also favoured the trifurcation in a bid to lend legitimacy to his demand for the creation of Harit Pradesh, which essentially incorporates the Jat-Muslim and sugarcane dominated region of western U.P.

All three RLD MPs have been elected from this region — Anuradha Chaudhary from Kairana in Muzaffarnagar, Ajit Singh from Baghpat and Munshi Ram from Bijnor.

[acharya]

<b>Gowda’s decision today</b>
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: With the numbers game remaining unclear even three days before the crucial vote of confidence in Parliament, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president, H.D. Deve Gowda, was at the centre of hectic political parleys here on Saturday.

Mr. Gowda, who arrived here on Saturday, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Soon after, leaders of several parties opposed to the ruling United Progressive Alliance made a beeline for his residence. They included chief strategist of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Satish Sharma, Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan, national secretary, A. Raja, and Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu, and senior party leader, Yerran Naidu and leader of the Telengana Rashtra Samiti, K.Chandrasekhar Rao.

Speaking to reporters after meeting the Prime Minister, Mr. Gowda said his party would decide on the stand to be taken on the trust vote on Sunday after consultations with his senior party colleagues. He declined to spell out the details of the meeting.

[acharya]

<b> ‘Strategic nuclear programme will be pursued’</b>
Finance Minister P.Chidambaram unveils a plaque as Rural Development Minister Jaipal Reddy looks on during the inauguration of the second phase of Krishna water supply project in Hyderabad on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: Asserting that the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal was aimed at ending the “nuclear isolation” and gaining access to technology, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said here on Saturday that the country would continue to pursue its strategic nuclear programme without subjecting it to any safeguards or inspection.

The Union Minister sought to allay apprehensions over the impact of the Hyde Act by claiming that the 123-Agreement, once voted “up” (ratified) by the U.S. Congress would be the last expression of the legislature and prevail over any earlier domestic law. And, “Article VI (2) of the U.S. constitution mandates that all treaties made, or which shall be made under the authority of the US would be the `supreme law’ of the land.”

“In any view of the matter, the Hyde Act, which is a domestic law, cannot bind India and cannot interfere with the implementation of the 123 Agreement which, when ratified by the U.S. Congress, will be a bilateral treaty between two sovereign countries,” he said. Moreover, even after the 123 deal came into force, India and the U.S. could enter into further agreements to fulfil the objectives on an industrial or a commercial scale, Mr. Chidambaram, said while participating at the sixth annual convocation of the Nalsar University of Law here.

Following the nuclear isolation since 1998, capacity utilisation of the country’s nuclear power 4,120 MW had come down steadily from 90 per cent in 2001-02 to 54 per cent in 2007-08, he said.

It was decided to secure access to technology in return for promise that certain civilian nuclear facilities – to be solely determined by India autonomously – would be segregated and placed under safeguards in a phased manner. An agreement with the IAEA and a waiver from the nuclear suppliers’ group were ‘indeed pre-conditions’ and the country could obtain civil nuclear cooperation with other countries.

The Finance Minister expressed concernthat issues relating to the deal were not being raised and answered in a logical and rational manner. “Why are lawyers and legal scholars keeping away from the debate? Why is an institution like Nalsar silent on this debate?” he asked.

[acharya]

<b>Put off negotiations on IAEA deal: BJP</b>
Special Correspondent
“Clarify whether the deal will come under Hyde Act scrutiny”
Deal compromises country’s nuclear interests
Fall of the UPA government is certain

PATNA: BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, MP, on Saturday demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government put on hold negotiations on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreement.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Prasad said denounced the government action and said that it should not be in any hurry in negotiations in Vienna on the IAEA agreement, particularly when the government was seeking a trust vote.

He said that the government should first give a clarification whether the deal would come under the scrutiny of the Hyde Act. The BJP leader feared that it would deter the country’s right to pursue nuclear testing.

Mr. Prasad underlined that his party was for good relations with the U.S. but maintained that the deal in its present form compromised the country’s nuclear interests in further testing atom bombs.

The deal in his opinion was not even otherwise worth it given that the nuclear energy proportion would rise marginally from 2.5 to about 6 per cent over a period of 20 years that too after a huge investment of about $120 billion.

Mr. Prasad said that the fall of the UPA government was certain and charged that it had committed the biggest fraud on the common masses.

The BJP general secretary accused the PMO of being the biggest bargain counter in the country and as the patented promoters of horse-trading. He charged that it had been forced to arbiter corporate disputes.

He took a dig on issues of secularism and communalism saying that the divide had become a farce and a joke by pointing to two instances. In 1990 Rajiv Gandhi had voted with the BJP to defeat the V.P.Singh government and that Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K.Advani had sponsored the motion electing Somnath Chatterjee Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2004.

[acharya]

<b>Nuclear deal is for nation’s security’</b>

Special Correspondent

Mallikarjun Kharge is confident of United Progressive Alliance winning the trust vote

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Backing nuclear deal: Leader of the Opposition M. Mallikarjun Kharge flagging off a ‘padayatra’ by Mahila Congress members in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, has stressed the need to sign the nuclear deal with the U.S. in the interests of the nation’s development and security.

He was inaugurating a “padayatra” organised by the Youth Congress and the Mahila Congress, seeking support from the people for the deal, here on Saturday.

Mr. Kharge condemned the opposition of the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party to the deal. “Party interests were important to them than the nation’s security and development,” he said.
Development

Mr. Kharge reiterated the Congress stance that the nuclear deal will not pose any problem to the country, and that it will help in all-round progress. He expressed confidence that the United Progressive Alliance would win the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 22.

Karnataka Mahila Congress president Rani Satish and Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee president Krishna Byre Gowda, MLA, spoke. They said that in the changed security scenario, the Centre taken an intelligent stance. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Veeranna Mathikatti; Dinesh Gundurao and N.L. Narendra Babu, MLAs; S.T. Somashekar, president of the Karnataka State Cooperative Housing Federation, and M. Ramachandrappa, general secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee were present on the occasion.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Botched up deal </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Local politics versus global imperatives
<b>It has been pointed with some irony that the future of the India-United States civil nuclear cooperation agreement will be decided by calculations far removed from the merits or demerits of a far-reaching diplomatic move. It is going to be shaped by whether Mr HD Deve Gowda wants an alliance with the Congress in Karnataka; by whether Mr Ajit Singh sees the need for a coalition in western Uttar Pradesh; by whether Ms Mayawati can poach enough MPs from the Samajwadi Party</b>. Indeed, the electoral considerations of Mr Harish Nagpal, the independent MP from Amroha (a constituency in Uttar Pradesh), have caused him to take a position on the nuclear deal, not a deep study of the 123 Agreement or India's proposed arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Even the original turnaround, the Samajwadi Party's advocacy of the deal, was rooted in the realisation that it was better to take on the BSP in alliance with the Congress rather than fight alone in Uttar Pradesh. The turn of events has left strategic thinkers and foreign policy buffs aghast. In New Delhi they argue that such an agreement should not be reduced to base politics but judged in terms of broader benefits or otherwise to national strategic interest. Admittedly, the argument seems persuasive. Not everything in politics can be reduced to a beauty contest; serious concerns deserve more measured, calibrated thought.

Nevertheless, what is happening in India is scarcely unique. A quarter century ago, the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mr Tip O'Neill, famously said, "<b>All politics is local." </b>That aphorism is both universal and perennial. In the past two years, if Senators and Representatives in Washington, DC, have cheered the Indian nuclear deal and voted for it on Capitol Hill, it is not because every single legislative backer is a global strategic expert convinced of the power of a rising India. Many have done so for local factors -- traded favours with the Bush Administration at the constituency level, listened to voters and pressure groups among them who have India connections and may be worth crucial campaign funds. Similarly, American politicians with a large Pakistani community in their constituencies have been swayed by electoral considerations and opposed the deal. Like India, America, too, is a nation of Harish Nagpals; every democracy is.

India's polity is marked by contention and variety. Does its very nature suggest that every major foreign policy initiative will be thwarted by some interest group or the other, by opposition for the sake of opposition, or driven by State or regional or even one-seat political considerations? If this were so, it would be depressing. It is here that the skill and maturity of politicians and Governments is tested. <b>After the fiasco of the nuclear deal -- even if it eventually goes through, the Congress has expended so much political capital that it will never seem worth it to many within the party -- there is a lesson for India's political leadership</b>. Never again should a Government allow a major agreement or move, one on which broader consensus is necessary, to be posited as the achievement of a chosen few. Indian democracy thrives on coalition-building -whether after elections are held or before nuclear deals are concluded.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

Now we can label PM Manmohan Singh as Most corrupt Politician of India.

[ramana]

This deal will complete the radicalization of IM as nothing else before it.

[G.Subramaniam]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jul 20 2008, 07:18 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jul 20 2008, 07:18 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->This deal will complete the radicalization of IM as nothing else before it.
[right][snapback]84627[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Ramana, IMs have been radical for hundreds of years

We only had the secular propoganda that they were non-radical

In a way, any country with any muslims will face a civil war sooner
or later
it is better sooner
before they breed too much

Since you are from Andhra
let me give you a small history lesson

The Nizam had 200,000 razakars
virtually every able bodied muslim men

They did not all go to pakistan
they are still here in Hyderabad

[acharya]

<b>
Advani refutes Sibal’s claim</b>

New Delhi: In a strong rebuttal to the Congress, which claimed that he had given his consent to the Indo-US nuclear deal in his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December 2007, BJP leader L.K. Advani said on Saturday that it was “baseless.”

“I have seen media reports quoting Kapil Sibal that I had expressed my consent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the deal. I strongly rebut this report which is baseless. It aims at spreading misinformation and confusion in the run-up to the trust vote which the UPA government has to face due to a crisis of its own making,” Mr. Advani told PTI.

Mr. Advani clarified to PTI that in his meeting with Dr. Singh in December 2007 he had suggested that the Atomic Energy Act must be amended to insulate the deal from the effects of the Hyde Act.

“I had told the PM that the deal in its present form is unacceptable to the country. I had told him that our party’s opposition is on account of the fact that the Hyde Act passed by U.S. Congress undermines our strategic autonomy and imposes curbs on our nuclear sovereignty,” he said. — PTI

[acharya]

<b>Centre hints at taking steps to counter Hyde Act</b>

July 19, 2008 13:28 IST


The government is "open to the idea" of amending the domestic law to counter the US Hyde Act which has been the major cause of opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal from the BJP and Left parties, highly placed official sources said.

Ahead of the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the sources said the government is confident of winning it and pursuing its "unfinished agenda" of reforms in insurance,

banking and pension sectors after discussions with its new ally, the Samajwadi Party.

Defending the controversial deal as one in the best interests of India, the sources maintained that India's obligations were spelt out in the bilateral 123 agreement with

the United States. The Hyde Act is purely a US domestic law which cannot override the bilateral agreement, they said.

All the same, the government is "open to the idea" of amending the Atomic Energy Act to counter the Hyde Act which critics see as a legislation that puts shackles on India's right to conduct nuclear tests.

The BJP has favoured an Indian legislation to tackle the Hyde Act, but sources said that the Opposition party had not spelt out the changes it wants in the Atomic Energy Act. "We are willing to look at all options provided they are feasible," the sources said.

Meanwhile, the government appears satisfied with the response from the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) who were briefed by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in Vienna.

However, it is not minimising the difficulties that may lie ahead and rejects suggestions that once the Safeguards Agreement is approved by the IAEA, the nuclear deal is on "auto pilot".

"We cannot take NSG for granted. It works on the basis of consensus," the sources said.

Regretting the "hurry" with which the Left had withdrawn support to the government over the deal, the sources said that even after the approval by the NSG and the US

Congress, India had the option of not operationalising the deal if it's final shape did not not satisfy Parliament.

After the entire process of approval, India would have to file a declaration about the deal before the IAEA. Only after that would the deal be operationalised, they pointed out.

Asked if the government would go ahead with the deal even if it lost the trust vote, the sources said,"We are not not going to lose the vote. Rest is hypothetical."

The sources emphasised that the UPA government was not "a one-issue government" but the nuclear deal had occupied "so much space" at a time when inflation needed to be tackled as a top priority.

"We will pick up the threads after the 22nd," they said referring to the trust vote.

The government, they emphasised, had a good record but also "an unfinished agenda". Inflation had been kept under 4 per cent during the first four years but had risen due to circumstances beyond its control.

The approach to tackling inflation was to ensure that the economy grew at 7.5 to 8 per cent without causing hardships to the poor sections of the people, the sources said, adding that controlling inflation would be the government's top priority.

Controlling inflation would take sometime but the Indian economy was "by and large" well managed. The food economy in particular had been handled very well unlike the other countries, they said.

[acharya]

<b>French envoy: BJP’s opposition surprising</b>

-Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont on Saturday met Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh here to lobby for the India-U.S. nuclear deal.

Authoritative BJP sources said Mr. Bonnafont told Mr. Singh that both Pakistan and China “in their own way” were lobbying with western countries against the deal being offered to India. He expressed surprise at the BJP opposing the deal.

Mr. Singh told him that the government had not taken political parties into confidence, nor did it properly brief the Opposition parties. “Politically it became difficult for the BJP” to support the deal.

The envoy is understood to have told Mr. Singh that their perception of the deal capping India’s military programme was misplaced. It left more than enough room for India to test in the event of Pakistan, China or some other country testing if it affected India’s security. Mr. Bonnafont further explained, the BJP sources said, that India was under international sanctions following Pokhran II, and in the worst-case scenario, sanctions would be imposed again. He is also believed to have pointed out that many American legislators in fact felt that U.S. had given away too much.

At the hour-long meeting, Mr. Singh said the deal failed to address the BJP’s strategic concerns although the party favoured closer strategic alliance with the U.S.

The future political scenario, including the next general elections, also came up for discussions.

[Capt M Kumar]

<!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo--> After Bush congratulated him “on your leadership at home”, he said, “I’m very happy to report to the President that our relations have moved forward handsomely since our first meeting in July 2005.” Notice the words “I’m very happy to report to the President...” Is the Prime Minister of any self-respecting democratic nation expected to “report” the President of America? Would

Dr Singh care to report to India’s Parliament, when it meets tomorrow and day after for a special session to determine the fate of his government, what assurance he gave to Bush in Japan?
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/337814.html

pagri sambhal Sardara
pagri sambhal oye

min translation:
Sardars(Sikhs); uphold the dignity of turbans-
Sardar Bhagat Singh(Martyr for the freedom of India)

[acharya]

Krishna Prasad

Is Manmohan still the 'weakest PM' since 1947?

July 19, 2008

Krishna Prasad glances at the events leading to the political dharamyuddh on Tuesday:

Regardless of what happens on Tuesday -- or maybe even Monday -- can anybody ever accuse Manmohan Singh [Images] of being "India's weakest PM since independence" again, as L K Advani so effortlessly did eight months ago?

The prime minister earned the epithet from the prime minister-in-waiting last October after he told a Hindustan Times conclave that his was not a "one-issue government" and that non-implementation of the nuclear deal was not the "end of life".
<b>
Advani charged Singh of an "extraordinary combination of ineptitude, arrogance, immaturity and lack of conviction" for heeding to Left pressure and making what, at that time, seemed like a U-turn on the serpentine nuclear road.

Advani's certification was, of course, only incidental.</b>

Since Singh doesn't thump his chest like you-know-who, flare up his nostrils like you-know-who or wag his finger like you-know-who, BJP spokesmen have merrily used the "weakest PM" tag to needle and deride the soft-spoken sardar.

(It took the controversy raised by Advani's claims in his memoirs over the IC-814 hijack to Kandahar for a Congress spokesman to briefly return the favour this March calling him "the weakest home minister India has ever had".)

But how odd the label now seems in the context of all that's happening.
<b>
The "weakest PM" has taken the Left bull by the horns leading to their withdrawal of support.

The "weakest PM" has continued on the lonely nuclear road.

The "weakest PM" has thirsted and sought a floor test of his government.
</b>
In truth, the seeming volte face on the nuclear deal was only a pretext to slap the "weakest PM" tag on Manmohan. Ever since he took over as prime minister, Advani and gang have liked to believe that the technocrat-politician did not have his own mind.

That he was just His Master's Voice, trying to listen to her inner voice.

If he didn't give interviews or thundering speeches, it was said that it was because he didn't want to overshadow the presiding deity of 10, Janpath. If he didn't take on his challengers and interlopers, it was because he didn't want to upset the puppeteers.

If he didn't slap his thighs at each terror attack, if he didn't twirl his moustache at the opposition in Parliament, if he didn't hang Afzal Guru or glare at Pervez Musharraf [Images], it was all seen to be a sign of "weakness".

And on and on, the insinuations went. How odd, therefore, that the "weakest PM" now has Sonia Gandhi [Images] and Rahul Gandhi [Images] publicly sticking their neck out and backing him. How odd that the "weakest PM" should have sent Prakash Karat scurrying into the open arms of Mayawati. How odd that the "weakest PM" should boldly meeting corporate chiefs in his office.

How odd, even, that the "weakest PM" should have revealed how shaky Advani's own position is on the N-deal.

God know how this nuclear kerfuffle will all end -- and where it will leave the government, the country, the Congress and the Left.

We can ask if this was the only issue on which the prime minister could have rediscovered his strength. We can ask if this was the only time he could have rediscovered his strength.

Maybe, as Saubhik Chaktrabarti wrote in The Indian Express, Manmohan's "opportunity cost for forcing a change" is lower. But, by god, can anybody accuse the prime minister of not having the courage of his conviction on the biggest issue of our times?

Whether or not he wins the trust vote on Tuesday, whether or not the nuclear deal goes through, somebody somewhere will still be inserting "India's weakest PM since independence" into his wikipedia entry.

But that's perception, what about the reality -- if not on Tuesday, two decades from now; if not at home, across the world?

[acharya]

<b>
Sena to vote against government
</b>
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, with 12 Lok Sabha members, has decided to vote against the UPA government, setting at rest speculation to the contrary. The party will issue a whip on Sunday. Sena supremo Bal Thackeray told party MPs at a meeting here on Saturday that the UPA government had “failed” on all fronts and had to go.

Eleven of the 12 Sena MPs were present at the meeting convened by Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray.

Mr. Thackeray made a brief appearance and directed the MPs to vote against the government, party leaders Manohar Joshi and Anant Geete told journalists. — PTI

[acharya]

<b>
Sonia: it’s agreement not deal</b>

Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI: One of the things Congress President Sonia Gandhi told members of Parliament who met her here on Saturday was that the India-U.S. nuclear agreement should not be called a “deal.” It should be called an “agreement,” she told MPs.

A booklet printed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is entitled, “Facts About India’s Initiative For Seeking International Cooperation in Civil Nuclear Energy.”
FAQs on pact

It deals with issues such as ‘Independent Foreign Policy,’ ‘Energy Demands,’ ‘India-U.S. Agreement,’ and the ‘Safeguards Agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency.’

There are two sections on ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ on the pact, as well as on the safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

[acharya]

All eyes now on fence-sitters[/B]

Anita Joshua

Samajwadi Party faces desertions; TDP chief rallies opponents of nuclear deal
Deve Gowda much sought after
BJP sends feelers to Ajit Singh

— Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu with Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: As the countdown began for the confidence motion, fence-sitters kept everyone guessing on Saturday, while the Samajwadi Party faced desertions soon after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati reached the capital to bolster the effort to bring down the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Though the SP got a jolt with its general secretary Shahid Siddiqui joining Ms. Mayawati, his departure does not affect the trust vote as he is a Rajya Sabha member. However, the party’s strength in the Lok Sabha got further depleted with S.P. Baghel moving to the Opposition camp. According to him, Muslims — and not Yadavs — formed the backbone of the SP and they felt deserted by the leadership’s decision to support the India-U.S. deal.

With this, the SP votes in the Lok Sabha have come down to 35 from 39 as Munawwar Hasan, Jai Prakash and Rajnarayan Budholia have already announced their decision to defy the party whip. Add to this, the possibility of the jailed Phulpur MP, Ateeq Ahmed, voting against the government.

The arrival of Ms. Mayawati, Telugu Desam Party leader and United Progressive National Alliance convener N. Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal (Secular) president H. D. Deve Gowda in the capital was followed by a series of meetings. Mr. Naidu first met Communist Party of India leaders A.B. Bardhan and D. Raja, and then had separate meetings with Ms. Mayawati, CPI(Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and Mr. Gowda.

About his meetings, Mr. Naidu said: “We have to defeat this government.” Asked whether he was in favour of propping up Ms. Mayawati as Prime Minister as suggested by Mr. Bardhan, the TDP leader first said this was not the issue right now but indicated that he was not opposed to it.

Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhara Rao met Ms. Mayawati and Mr. Gowda, and had a second interaction in 24 hours with Mr. Ajit Singh. Separately, Mr. Bardhan and Mr. Raja also met Mr. Gowda who, along with Mr. Ajit Singh, is among the undecided. While he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Gowda’s visitors included Mr. Naidu and Bahujan Samaj Party MP Satish Mishra.

Describing his association with members of the “third front” as an old one, Mr. Ajit Singh said he was hearing all viewpoints. “All these opinions will be placed before our party for a collective decision,” he said refusing to comment on speculation of bargaining hard with the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for seat adjustments in the next parliament elections.

Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders confirmed that feelers had been sent to Mr. Ajit Singh. V.K. Malhotra and Arun Jaitley had been asked by the BJP to contact him and the party was not opposed to a seat-sharing arrangement, a senior leader said, adding that the two parties have had such an understanding in the past.

Similarly, the BJP is trying to rope in the TRS and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief, Shibu Soren. Though the BJP is not hopeful of success with Mr. Soren, it has let it be known that the party is no longer opposed to a separate Telangana.