<b>UPA claims it has support of 291 MPs</b>
New Delhi (PTI): With just two days to go for the trust vote in Lok Sabha, top UPA leaders on Saturday claimed that the combine had the support of 291 MPs and that JMM was "part and parcel" of the Congress-led coalition.
Union Ministers Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan claimed that the Congress-led coalition has the support of 291 MPs and "we will win the trust vote".
On JMM, Prasad said that the Shibu Soren-led party was "part and parcel of the UPA" and their MPs will vote for the country.
"This deal is in the interest of the nation and UPA has the support of 291 MPs," Lalu claimed and added "Mayawati is not so fortunate to become Prime Minister and Advaniji doesn't have it in his fortunes to become PM."
The Railways Minister said when Mulayam, Lalu and Paswan stand together "nothing can stop them from getting the majority."
Paswan said that the Left parties who had earlier "abused" the BJP have joined hands with the party and termed the opposition alliance as "opportunistic" one.
"There is no danger to UPA government and opposition has become an opportunistic alliance," Paswan said.
<b>
"The magic figure is 271 and Laluji said that we have the support of 291 MPs. We have identified 281 of the members who will support us. Remaining 10 will support us during trust vote," he said.</b>
Criticising CPI leader A B Bardhan for termed all MPs as corrupt, Lalu said: "I want an answer from Prakash Karat that Somnath and Jyoti Basu had drawn a line over the issue, when senior leaders have such stand, then he should answer us on what basis they have termed MPs as corrupt," Lalu said.
07-20-2008, 10:43 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-20-2008, 10:45 AM by acharya.)
<b> Missing the wood for the trees</b>
N. Ravi
On balance, it becomes clear that the advantages overwhelmingly outweigh any threat or flaw and the nuclear deal is as good a deal as any government can negotiate.
The vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22 is historic for the reason that it is the closest Parliament has come to the ratification of a treaty, and for the first time a government has staked its survival on a single issue but with wide ramifications for energy security, access to technology and foreign policy. Because the Constitution does not require ratification on the reasoning that a government entering into a treaty can in any case survive only if it enjoys the confidence of Parliament, governments typically have come before Parliament with statements and explanations on international agreements they have signed. On occasion there have been debates on the agreements but not a vote. In the circumstances, the only way a parliamentary majority which opposes an agreement can voice its disapproval is by voting out the government itself â a drastic step that would be resorted to only when emotions run high and the opposition is strong.
The question that is often raised in the current context is this: whether the nuclear deal is so important for the government to stake its very survival on it, considering its fairly impressive record in other areas including the policy framework that has made possible continued high growth rates â now dimmed somewhat by inflation â its pro-poor policies, notably the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the farm loan waiver and initiatives in health and education, and transparency in government through the Right to Information Act. Seen purely from the standpoint of the electoral prospects of the Congress party and the United Progressive Alliance it leads, the deal may not quite be seen as a winner, particularly in the context of its presumed impact on minority votes. If one were to consider the deal from the standpoint of national interest â defined narrowly here as greatly advantageous, with the benefits substantially, if not overwhelmingly, balancing out any drawbacks â the answer would seem to be very different. It would be vastly different too if the question were to be turned on its head: whether the deal is so flawed, dangerous and unacceptable as to vote the government out.
In the no holds barred battle for the numbers, there is the danger that the merits of the nuclear deal would be overshadowed by other issues that have cropped up including the means â overt or hidden, promised or delivered â used to gather support, peripheral issues such as the naming of an airport or regional demands. Over the past three years, there has been a vigorous debate with little convergence or agreement on its merits both in and outside Parliament. Given the fundamental differences and the Leftâs opposition to any type of nuclear deal with the United States, discussions in the UPA-Left coordination committee on the finer points of the agreement would seem to have been farcical and no more than an exercise on both sides to buy time, hoping for some dramatic, new development. From the standpoint of the government, that development came in the form of the 39-member Samajwadi Partyâs unexpected change of heart.
Now that it has come to this pass with the government deciding to go ahead with the deal and putting its majority to test, it is important that Parliament keep the focus on the deal, its advantages and flaws. The deal itself needs to be seen as what it is primarily: an agreement to shore up energy security and gain access to nuclear and high technology, with transformative effects on foreign policy.
There is first its impact on the countryâs energy needs, which becomes a critical consideration given the high oil prices touching $140 and more a barrel and the imperative of maintaining high growth rates into the future. The national nuclear programme has been functioning in isolation for the last three decades since Pokhran I and with heightened restrictions since Pokhran II of 1998. Hamstrung by the non-availability of uranium and denial of access to international technology, generation capacity even now remains at a little over 3,000 MW as against the target of 10,000 MW set for 2000, with the result that upstart wind power has overtaken it in terms of contribution to the total power needs. Uranium shortage has become so serious that even the low installed capacity is being operated at just 40 to 50 per cent. The target set for 2020 is 20,000 MW but it is hard to see how it can be achieved under the present technology denial regime. On the other hand, the nuclear deal will secure access to equipment and uranium from the United States as well as from countries such as Russia, France and the United Kingdom and make it possible to not just meet this target but even double it to 40,000 MW. While there would still be several imponderables, its potential impact on the countryâs long term development would be far reaching and tremendous. Whether only the economist in the Prime Minister sees this advantage and whether the gain would be too far out into the future for others to appreciate remains to be seen.
The second advantage is that it will gain India access to high technology â to larger capacity reactors, for instance, and to monitoring and safety technology. The nuclear establishment will be able to participate in international collaborative research on thermonuclear reactors and the new fourth generation reactors as well that could offer significant advantages in the future. The countryâs three stage nuclear programme that will ultimately use the plentiful resources of thorium for power generation will also benefit from access to foreign technology. The intangible advantages of visits, collaboration and exchanges among scientists would be of great value as well. In return, the civilian reactors would be placed under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards but the strategic nuclear weapons programme would remain separate and outside the safeguards regime.
In the face of these advantages, some of the objections raised by critics seem quite peripheral and even trivial. There is, for instance, the criticism that technological cooperation will remain less than full unless the U.S. were to amend its laws to permit export of enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water technology. Or that arrangements for reprocessing the spent fuel imported from the U.S. have still to be negotiated when reprocessing becomes necessary, though within a time span of one year. The more substantive objections, however, are basically two.
The first is the Leftâs view that the deal will take India into a closer strategic partnership with the U.S. which would mark a departure from the independent foreign policy line agreed to in the national common minimum programme. It is well thought out and articulated objective of the Prime Minister that closer relations with the U.S. are essential in a globalised world where it controls the levers of economic and technological power. Nobody can really object to better relations as such but the question is whether closer relations would lead to the blind following of the U.S. line. Here, even if one were to dismiss the governmentâs declaration that it will not swerve from an independent foreign policy as rhetoric, two other factors seem to hold some assurance. One is the historical background and practical realities of policy making where given the pressures at work âthe views of the Muslim minority, for instance, when dealing with Israel â it will be very difficult for any government to effect a drastic change of course. The second is that, as articulated by Dr. Manmohan Singh, following the U.S. other nations too will feel the need to come to terms with a new and rising India, or as he put it, the deal will open new doors in other capitals. Thus a deal with the U.S. is an essential first step towards diversifying cooperation and entering into similar deals with other nuclear suppliers such as Russia, France and the U.K.
The second objection from the BJP at the other end of the political spectrum is that the deal will compromise Indiaâs strategic autonomy and it will become virtually impossible to carry out another nuclear explosion. As of now, the government is committed in the deal to continuing with the policy of voluntary restraint on further nuclear explosions that was propounded by the NDA regime after Pokhran II. It will be naïve to imagine, however, that any explosion quite apart from being ill advised and untenable can be totally cost free or that nuclear cooperation would still continue as usual. The deal, however, seeks to minimise the cost of such explosions in the unlikely event of a government resorting to it through such arrangements as building up a strategic fuel reserve to overcome sudden supply stoppages, a multi-stage dialogue process to try to sort out issues before resort to drastic steps such as a cut off of supplies and some leeway for international developments such as explosions by another country in the neighbourhood. On balance, it becomes clear that the advantages overwhelmingly outweigh any threat or flaw and it is as good a deal as any government can negotiate. Were the country to miss this chance, it will be an uphill task for any future government to resurrect the deal with a new administration in Washington.
<b>Sibhu Soren meets Sonia Gandhi</b>
New Delhi (PTI): JMM chief Sibhu Soren on Sunday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and held discussions. Soren, along with Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto, met Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence and held discussions.
The meeting assumes significance amidst reports that Soren has been offered Chief Ministership of Jharkhand by the Congress. The JMM, which has five MPs, has not made its stand clear on which way it would vote during the confidence motion.
<b>
Deal in the best interest of country: Poojari</b>
Kannur (PTI): Attacking the BJP and the Left for their opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal, AICC Coordinator for Kerala Janardhana Poojari, on Saturday claimed all concerns expressed by them have been addressed and maintained that the pact was in the best interest of the country.
"The nuclear deal is the baby of the Vajpayee government as the agreement was initiated by the previous NDA rule and as such the BJP has no moral right to blame the UPA government's bid to go ahead with the pact," he told reporters here.
"The nuclear deal assumes significance as India's developmental projects are hit by the acute power shortage and the future generation will not forgive us if the deal is kept in abeyance citing that it jeopardised sovereignty of India," Poojary, who is here as part of the campaign to dispel doubts about proceeding with the deal, said.
All the concerns and doubts expressed by the Left parties and the BJP led NDA had been addressed and necessary safeguards were put in place by the Manmohan Singh Government. The deal had been discussed in Parliament on not less than four occasions, he maintained.
He alleged that the Left had a "hidden agenda" as they owed allegiance to the Communist China and did not want India to emerge stronger.
The deal in the present form was better than the one drafted by the NDA Government because of the negotiations by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said adding that the government had received support from experts, including former President A P J Abdul Kalam.
<b>MANMOHAN GOVERNMENT IS DEAD
KARAT-REGIONAL BOSSES BUILD MAYA TO MASSACRE MULAYAM
ADVANI UNITES NDA TO VOTE ANTI-GOVT</b>
By P.R.SIDDHARTHA
20 JULY 2008
MANMOHAN GOVERNMENT IS BEYOND REPAIR
The Manmohan Singh Government has lost the Majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Trust Vote on 22 July is just the Funeral Rites of Indiaâs Worst Ever Prime Minister, Most Corrupt Ever Governance and the most Incompetent Political Management.
MIRACLE
There is Only One Way for the Manmohan Government to survive.
If the BJP decides to somersault its opposition to the Nuclear Deal and supports the Government then the Trust Vote will be won.
The BJP will not change its Opposition to the Sonia Congress Government.
UNITED BJP
Prime Minister To Be L.K.Advani, BJP President Rajnath Singh and RSS Chief Sudarshan are united in defeating the Manmohan Government which has always been Abusive of the BJP-RSS.
<b>
ADVANI UNITES BJP AGAINST SONIA GOVERNMENT
L.K.Advani has united the entire NDA.
Advaniâs Leadership and effort has ensured that there will be No Cross Voting from the NDA Camp.
Advaniâs Persuation has inspired the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal to solidly Vote Against the Manmohan Government.
Advani has by uniting the BJP-NDA has thus prepared the Ground for Mayawati to make a Funeral of the Manmohan Government.</b>
MAGIC MANTRA TO DEFEAT UPA GOVT
Not even One Mulayam MP will Oppose the Government on the Say of Karat, Bardhan, Advani, Naidu and the rest of the Anti-Government Political Bosses.
All those who want to defeat the Manmohan Government have realised that the Magic Mantra is in motivating most of Mulayam Singh Yadavâs 39 MPs to Vote Against the Government.
MULAYAMâS MPs AWAIT MAYAWATI BLESSINGS
Mulayamâs MPs know that they are all losing the next Lok Sabha Elections.
Not even One Muslim will vote for Mulayam and his MPs.
Mulayam MPs know that the Only Magic Mantra to win in Uttar Pradesh is to Vote Against the Manmohan Government and do a Deal with Mayawati to secure a BSP Ticket to contest the Lok Sabha Elections.
Mulayam MPs will Vote Against the Manmohan Government ONLY if Mayawati assures the MPs a BSP Ticket from Uttar Pradesh.
MAYAWATI WILL MASSACRE MULAYAM
Thus Prakash Karat, A.B.Bardhan, Chandrababu Naidu, Brindaban Goswami and Other Regional Bosses are pumping Mayawatiâs Ego and projecting her as a future Prime Minister.
Mayawati is now going after Mulayam Singh with a Sledge Hammer.
If Mayawati Weans Mulayamâs MPs ONLY then the Manmohan Government will be defeated.
Mayawati has already got 9 of Mulayamâs 39 MPs to Vote Against the Manmohan Government.
Mayawati could increase the Mulayam Rebels from 9 to 18 by Voting Time on 22 July Night to defeat the Manmohan Government.
PRIME MINISTER MAYAWATI
The Regional Bosses of the UNPA, the Left Front and Unattached Small Party Bosses will LUNCH Together on 20 July to announce Mayawati as their Prime Minister Candidate.
GOWDA, AJIT & ABDULLAH WILL NOW VOTE AGAINST GOVT
The impact of the Regional Bosses, the Communists and Mayawati Forging a Third Front against the Sonia Congress and the RSS-BJP will have a terrific impact on Deve Gowda (2 Karnataka MPs), Ajit Singh (3 U.P. MPs) and Farookh Abdullah (2 J& K MPs) to motivate them to Vote against the Manmohan Government.
FINISHLINE
The Manmohan Government is Dead. The Body will be Thrown Out on 22 July Night!
<!--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-->
ManMohan turned out be worst PM of India and good lap dog of 10 Janpath.
He had divided India in worst way. Not only by this deal but traitor had started nonsense Sachar commission and Muslim first just to stay in power. Now this greedy man is using his pagri to stay in power, what a low life he is.
[I am restricting myself to use some adjectives]
Another list numbers:
UPA
INC:152*; SP:33*; RLD:24; DMK:16*; NCP:11; PMK:6; JMM:5; LJSP:4; MDMK(Rebels):2; IUML:1; AIMIM:1; PDP:1; SDF:1; RPI:1; BNP:1; NLP:1; IND(SK Bwiswmuthiary):1;
= 261
Riders:
1. Unclear if Karnal MP Arvind Sharma (INC, Haryana) would support UPA. Had 1-on-1 meeting with Sonia Gandhi. MP Kuldeep Bishnoi could be the lone rebel.
2. Rebel List: MP Munawwar Hasan, MP Jaiprakash Rawat, MP Rajnarayan Budholiya, MP SP Baghel, MP Ateeq Ahmad, MP Afzal Ansari
3. MP Dayanidhi Maran will vote for UPA
Potential Supporters:
1. [2] National Conference would most probably support UPA
2. [1] TRS (rebel) MP Ale Narendra is inclined to back UPA also.
3. [2] 2 of the 4 may support: MP Thupstan Chhewang (Ind., Ladakh), MP Mani Charenamei (Ind., Manipur), MP Vanlalzamwa (MNF), MP Wangyu Konyak (NPF)
4. [3] Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh is proving to be a very difficult customer
5. [0] There have been reports of MP Dr. P. Pookunhi Koya (JD(U), Lakshadweep) to have lent his support to UPA.
6. [0] There is speculation that some MPs from parties such as BJP, JD(U), Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, BSP and others may either abstain or vote with UPA.
7. [0] Janata Dal (Secular) of Deve Gowda would probably go with the opposition.
8. [0] Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee will either abstain or vote against to precipitate early elections.
Total UPA = 269
It is however not clear if even more MPs from Samajwadi Party and RJD may desert their parties.
**********
OPPOSITION*
**********
NDA:169; Left Front(incl. JD(S):1; KC:1; IND:1; Speaker:-1):61; UNPA(incl. IND:1):8; BSP:17; SP(Rebels):6; INC(Rebels):1; MDMK:2; IND(Nagpal):1; TRS:2;
= 267 Assured
Possible Opposition
JD(S):2; TC:1; IND+Small Parties:2
= 5 Possibly
Total Opposition = 272
This Opposition figure is calculated without all those who would abstain or vote with UPA.
If Ajit Singh goes with UPA, there is a very good chance UPA could win. If JD(S) should also go with UPA, then the chances increase further.
<b>Trust vote: RLD to vote against UPA </b>
After much dithering, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has three MPs, on Sunday decided to vote against the UPA Government in the July 22 trial of strength in Lok Sabha.
The decision was taken after consultations RLD chief Ajit Singh had with the party MPs who expressed reservation over supporting the Congress which had tied up with the Samajwadi Party to sail through the trust vote.
"RLD will vote against the government in the confidence motion," Singh told reporters after the meeting with party MPs.
<b>
"Congress is run by Amar Singh. We discussed the issue and our MPs are not in favour of supporting Congress because SP is with them," he said, adding, "besides this, we also discussed the performance of the Government in the last four years as also the nuclear deal".</b>
<!--emo&<_<--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' /><!--endemo--> "If the government survives - and it's expected to, having replaced the Left parties with smaller regional allies", the magazine said it would only take the deal to the next hurdle as "the deal is no sure thing in Washington, either".
"The White House is pushing hard to get the deal on the legislative calendar in the House and Senate," Businessweek noted, as "for an embattled president, bringing India into the nuclear fold would be a rare foreign policy success for the Bush Administration".
"There's more than just nuclear reactor business on the line. The deal is seen as a proxy for Indo-American relations, and if it survives, it augurs well for future strategic defence and economic ties", the weekly said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Fu...e+with+interest
Deve Gowda Jee (JD-S)and Ajit Singh (RLD) jee have decided to oppose the deal.
Akali Dal and Shiv Sena have already issued whip to their parties to oppose UPA.
the game is over for MMS.
tomorrow PM will resign and Left will support UPA again after New puppet PM is installed
by SoniaG to left's satisfaction.
07-20-2008, 03:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-20-2008, 03:25 PM by Capt M Kumar.)
Singh is the king:
There is no question of SP joining the government. So the question of Jaya Bachchan or me becoming ministers does not arise. If I join the government, I will at least ensure that I do not become I&B minister or take up the Telecommunications Ministry.
Will Murli Deora also make the same commitment that he will not hold the Petroleum portfolio as his friends â Mukesh Ambani and L N Mittal â own oil refineries?
⢠In any case, what would be your dream portfolio -- Home or Defence?
Ideally, there is no challenge in either the Defence or the Home portfolio. One can do positive, constructive work in the Human Resources Development ministry.
⢠By the last count, how many MPs are still with the Samajwadi Party?
We have 36 MPs. I am in touch with all of them.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.as...2f7c0d&pageno=1
http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.ph...eid=63&Itemid=1
Guys, this third front with Maywati will affect BJP's chances of coming to power in the next election. BJP will need allies and potential allies like INLD, AGP, RLD are switching over to UNPA which is projecting Mayawati as PM.
If the BJP does not perform very well i.e. 180 seats or so, then it is likely that UNPA might form the next govt. This is not a good thing for BJP supporters.
I actually support the UPA
in this
A win for the UPA will mean that anti-commie economic reforms can be pursued freely
It will also weaken the commies
In addition, by waiting another 10 months, the BJP will have a better shot
A loss for UPA will mean Mayawati as PM depending on left support
Sonia is distributing crumbs to poor MPs.
Jharkhand will also go for election, if Sonia tries to install Soren as CM.
What shocks me, how bodly Sonia is busy corrupting politics, she had made India one of the most politically corrupt country. It seems her target is to beat any African country in political corruption.
NEW TALLY
UPA - 269 - 4 MPs from SP are anti deal, Cong 4 rebels
OPP - 272 - 2 Deve Gowda for OPP
<b>Don't push N-deal if you lose trust vote, CPI(M) tells UPA</b>
New Delhi (PTI): Asserting that the Government and the nuclear deal would be "doomed" on Tuesday, the CPI(M) today warned that the country would "revolt" if the Congress-led UPA tried to push the agreement in the event of losing the trust vote.
"We wish to warn this government that in case you lose the trust vote, don't try and push the nuclear deal. The country will revolt," party General Secretary Prakash Karat said after a two-day meeting of the CPI(M) Central Committee.
Maintaining that the struggle against the nuclear deal would continue, he said one phase of this struggle was the trust vote. "The deal will be doomed and the government will be doomed on July 22."
Charging the government with public betrayal, he said it had promised that the next step on the safeguards agreement would be taken only after the trust vote. Instead, "we see the spectacle of our officers scurrying to Vienna to try and hustle through the safeguards agreement with the (IAEA) Board of Governors."
"You have already bypassed Parliament. You have also gone back on a public pledge because you are committed to (US) President (George W) Bush," Karat told the government.
Accusing the UPA of taking "desperate and unscrupulous steps to engineer defections", he said the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were trying to mobilise the support of unaffiliated MPs using "money power and unscrupulous methods".
"It is a shame on this government to use the votes of convicted criminals to sustain themselves in power," he said noting the difference between MPs who were convicted and those who were undertrials.
"Even MPs who are convicted of serious crimes are being brought in for support," Karat said while welcoming the alignment of parties opposing the nuclear deal.
"It is shocking that the Manmohan Singh government went to the (IAEA) Board of Governors for approval of the draft safeguards agreement without revealing the text to the country.
"The 123 Agreement with the US was similarly signed without taking the country into confidence. The most recent betrayal by the government has been the going back on its public commitment not to approach the Board of Governors without facing the trust motion in Lok Sabha," he said.
Maintaining that the CPI(M) Central Committee had asked the Politburo to rally all forces opposed to the deal, Karat said "the UNPA, BSP, JD(S), RLD and the Left parties have decided to work together. We will meet after the trust vote to decide the future course of action," he said. The meeting is scheduled on the morning of July 23.
"More such forces are joining us. There will be a way forward after the trust vote. ... More and more forces are coming together to fight the government," he said.
Asked whether the Left would continue its relations with Mayawati, he said they have decided to come together to oust the UPA from power and oppose the nuclear deal. "We have old relations with various (non-Congress, non-BJP) parties.
"We will meet on July 23 and decide our future course of action," the CPI(M) leader said.
Karat said the Central Committee welcomed the efforts to bring various non-BJP, non-Congress parties together to fight against the deal and the Government.
<b>
NDA to expose UPA 'misrule' during trust vote</b>
New Delhi (PTI): With an eye on the next Lok Sabha elections, the NDA meeting on Sunday decided that during the trust vote its MPs in the Lower House should not stop short at blasting the Indo-US nuclear deal but also expose the four years of UPA "misrule" and also argue that the NDA coalition was better than UPA.
"We have not been given any direction on what and how to speak. But the speeches will not be confined to the nuclear deal alone," said one of the MPs.
"The speakers will criticise the UPA government's failure on internal security, failure to check price rise, increasing farmer suicides, lack of fertiliser for farmers, and other issues," said a BJP MP.
The NDA MPs have also been advised to speak at length on how the NDA followed coalition 'dharma' while the UPA has been a "complete failure". "Their members have deserted them while NDA's had stayed intact," Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha V K Malhotra told reporters.
NDA sources told PTI after their meeting in the parliament annexe here that other than their prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, those who will speak include Shahnawaz Hussain, Kiran Maheshwari, Maneka Gandhi, Manvendra Singh and Amar Singh Gehlot.
<b>Social activists write to PM to scrap N-deal</b>
New Delhi (PTI): Terming the Indo-US nuclear deal as anti-people, noted social activists on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to scrap it with immediate effect.
"The Indo-US nuclear deal is patently anti-people and will make India a strategic ally of American Imperialism in South Asia to impose its hegemony over Asia," they said in an open letter to the Prime Minister.
"We therefore demand that the Indo-US nuclear deal be scrapped with immediate effect and the ongoing talks between IAEA should be called off immediately," the letter said.
Terming the deal "an outrageous instrument of recolonisation of India and Third world", they said when the deal comes through, it will grievously undermine the current global regime of the nuclear non-proliferation in gross violation of underlying principles of nuclear peace, workers, environment and women's movement.
They also rejected the proposition that the deal will enhance India's energy security and said nuclear energy is "prohibitively costly and intrinsically hazardous" and will distort India's effort towards cheaper renewable energy sources.
They suggested Singh that since India stands very low on human development index, instead of spending on costly nuclear power it should invest in the field of health, education, food security, rural and urban development.
The letter was written by Kuldeep Nayyar, Justice (retd) Rajendar Sachhar, Sandeep Pandey and others.
<b>Maran to support UPA</b>
Chennai (PTI): Ending the suspense on a stand on the July 22 trust vote, dissident DMK MP and estranged grand nephew of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Dayanidhi Maran on Sunday said that he would vote for the confidence motion and support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"I am basically a DMK man and hence will abide by the party's decision. People have given a mandate to UPA to rule the country for five years and my voters have given me a mandate to support the government. Hence I will be supporting the UPA and cast my vote in favour of the confidence motion," he said.
Maran told a crowded press conference that "Manmohan Singh is leading the country in a good way. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is advising him well. I want the continuance of the UPA government. I will vote for UPA".
He said Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Lalu Prasad, Kamal Nath and Jayaram Ramesh spoke to him seeking his support, but none of the DMK leaders bothered to call him.
Asked whether there was possibility of any rapprochement between his and Karunanidhi's families, Maran said "I do not know. But a coterie around my leader (Karunanidhi) is not allowing it".
However, he regretted the attitude of some DMK men towards him and his relatives. "The party has not yet told why I was asked to resign from the union cabinet and what mistake I and my brother (Kalanidhi Maran) committed. We were not even allowed to meet our granduncle (Karunanidhi) on his birthday," he said.
Maran said he was quite surprised that leaders in Delhi have not utilised the experience of Karunanidhi to deal with the current political crisis.
"I could say I am quite upset, disturbed... that leaders in Delhi have not utilised Kalaingar's experience. They have not utilised it... He could have negotiated in a better way with the leaders and sorted out the crisis," Maran said.
"Karunanidhi would have handled the situation in a different manner and resolved the crisis," Maran said.
Asked to name the leaders who did not utilise Karunanidhi's experiences, Maran just said, "all the leaders."
Asked whether Karunanidhi's elder Son M K Azhagiri was the 'stumbling-block for the rapprochement', he told a press conference earlier that he would not blame Azhagiri.
"Did I put up candidates in 18 constituencies to defeat DMK nominees including the then Speaker (P T R Palanivelrajan) in 2001," he said in an indirect attack on Azhagiri, apparently referring to candidates backed by Azhagiri causing the defeat of DMK candidates then.
He said despite being treated shabbily by the DMK leadership, he had not done anything against the party. "During the presidential and vice-presidential polls, I voted for the candidates supported by the party".
He said he had contributed his mite to the formation of UPA and "will do my duty to save the government because I am the son of Murasoli Maran. I will abide by the decision of the party on which I was elected".
<b>
Soren meets Manmohan, submits demands</b>
New Delhi (PTI): Soon after announcing his decision to support the government, JMM chief Shibu Soren on Sunday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a 13-point demand on which Singh agreed to constitute a monitoring committee for implementation.
"PM's response to our demands was positive," Soren, who met Singh at his residence along with four more MPs, told reporters.
Soren also exuded confidence that the UPA government would survive the trust vote. "We have done our work by deciding to support UPA. The government will survive," said Soren.
He informed that a monitoring committee would be constituted with JMM's representation to ensure implementation of the 13-point demand made by the party.
"We have made demands for the development of tribals in Jharkhand and a few districts of West Bengal and Orissa, which are part of the greater Jharkhand," said Soren. He claimed that the demand of greater Jharkhand is also being considered by the PM.
Soren also cleared that he will get back the Union Coal Ministry besides a berth of minister of state for JMM.
"We did not demand more than what is our right. We have demanded only one MoS besides the Union Coal Ministry, which I +earlier held," told Soren said.
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