123-The Indian Reality show

Friday, 27 June 2008 11:05

Written by Anshul

While most of you are busy watching either Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Hai?, Das Ka Dum or some other reality shows beaming at you from numerous entertainment channels on Indian TV, there is another show going on which has better action, more comedy and suspense, but has remained unnoticed by most of viewers, since it's being beamed free of charge.

On this show, the grand prize on offer are the people of India. This game show began when India and US agreed on the 123 treaty. The First round comprised of passing the parcel game, in which both UPA and the left parties passed the responsibility of getting the 123-treaty passed on the floor of the people's darbar to each other.

According to the Left, the treaty is anti-national and would place India's nuclear reactors under US control. While UPA says that this deal is a solution to India's ever increasing energy demands. The BJP which had initiated the treaty talks says that treaty in its current form is anti-national.

With BJP showing no signs of relenting and supporting the deal, the show has switched between 7 Race Course Road and AKG Bhawan. Both buildings have been turned into command centers for the two warring camps and none of them are ready to climb down from their stated positions. Dr. Manmohan Singh has made it a prestige issue for himself and is bent on getting the deal signed even if it is at the cost of dissolving Her majesty Sonia's government.

Its the same with the Left, which can not make any more compromises on its opposition to the nuclear deal as it would 'cost it dear' in the electoral politics, according to sources in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). "What will we tell people if we allow them to go ahead and finalize the IAEA pact? It will be a political disaster for us," a senior CPI-M leader told ONN on condition of anonymity last evening.

Apart from reiterating their opposition, they insist that finalizing the India-specific safeguards protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will put the 123 agreement with Washington on auto pilot mode, the Left sources said.

But the Government is keen on finalizing the safeguards agreement before IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei completes his term in July. Meanwhile, at the Government level, the pressure on Congress President Sonia Gandhi to go ahead with the deal despite the Left's opposition has been increasing, said sources.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been saying that the country would have to explore possibilities of other energy sources in the wake of steep hike in international oil prices. The nuclear deal would act as a counter to rising inflation when the party goes to poll next year.' The section which is supporting the deal is getting stronger these days,' said a Congress leader.

Currently the second and final round has started. This round could be described as Antakshari round because both the parties are singing to their tune and those caught in the middle are UPA allies who are  suffering from sleepless nights. Neither Lalu, Pawar or Karunanidhi are ready to test election waters this year. With the ongoing possibility of Government coming down, they have put their efforts into overdrive, to find a middle path between both the warring camps.

To mix it up a little there are chances of a wild card entry into this game. The wild card player is none other than Mulayam Singh, who with 36 MPs is well poised to step in Left's shoes. However, the Samajwadi Party is still keeping everyone guessing as to whether it will support the nuclear deal in Parliament. Samajwadi Party supremo, Mulayam Singh is keeping his cards close to his chest and thereby keeping the Government on tenterhooks.

"The final draft is not yet ready. Let the Congress complete the draft. The UNPA will meet on July 3 to take a final decision on whether they will be supporting the nuclear deal or not. Whatever decision will be taken, it will be taken keeping UNPA in mind not just Samajwadi Party," Mulayam Singh said.

He is a little miffed about the fact that with all the rumors being bandied about in the political circles that his party is lending support to the Congress, not a single person from the Congress has approached any leader from his party!! So it is only when 10 Janpath comes calling that Mulayam Singh may turn the tables in favour of the Congress.

Comments (3)

maverick58: ...

With the political crisis over the nuclear deal deepening and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s refusing to budge from his stand of going to the IAEA, the Congress high command is weighing the option of replacing him to save the alliance.

The leaders being consid ered to replace Dr Singh were the defence minister, Mr A.K. Antony, the home minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, and the power minister, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde.

The external affairs minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, despite his political experience, could be overlooked, as the party high command “is aware of his political ambition.” In 1986, Mr Mukherjee had floated his own politi cal outfit, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, after being expelled from the Congress. Mr Mukherjee had reportedly indulged in anti-party activities when Rajiv Gandhi beat him to the post of the Prime Minister. “This is something, the Gandhi family has not forgotten,” a Congress functionary said.

The Congress is under tremendous pressure from the allies to avoid an early poll. One of the arguments being put out is that if the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the Assembly elections in five states, the party would not be able to take advantage of the antiincumbency factor of the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

If the Assembly polls are clubbed with the general elections, the UPA parties would face the anti-incum bency factor which would benefit the BJP.

The allies and a large chunk of the Congress leaders were reportedly “not too pleased” with the Prime Minister for his refusal to let go of the deal. Dr Singh was also pressing for an early date for the final meeting of the UPA-Left nuclear committee, sources disclosed.

Congress strategists were of the opinion that with inflation and price rise looming large, it would be a bad time to go for elections.

On Thursday, the Congress had fielded the finance minister, Mr P.

Chidambaram, to talk to the nation about the inflation, which hit 11.42 per cent on Friday.

Keeping in mind the postpoll arithmetic, the UPA allies are not in favour of losing the Left support before the elections.

1

June 28, 2008

bigstoner: ...

Amidst talk of the possibility of early elections over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, asked senior party leaders to draw up timebound programmes and strategies to energise the organisation throughout the country ahead of some Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

At a meeting of party general secretaries, she assigned tasks to them to organise the party “everywhere” at all levels for five assemblies and the next Lok Sabha elections.

“This meeting was about poll preparations. The Lok Sabha elections were also discussed, the party has to get ready for polls and everybody has been asked to draw up programmes and submit the same at the next meeting,” the AICC general secretary, Mr Janardan Dwivedi, said.

The row over the Indo-US nuclear deal did not figure in the hour-long discussions that Mrs Gandhi had with the top party functionaries.

“The issue has already been discussed at two working committee meetings,” a senior leader said.

Lok Sabha elections are due around April next year and a round of Assembly elections are due in November this year.

2

June 29, 2008

captainjohann: 123 show

congress and Manmohan would have signed the deal long back but for the calculation that after 2009 Lok Sabha lelections, they just cannot come back to power without LEFT!!!! It will be status quo with bitterness. US has asked ambani to tell mulayam to keep his flock ready and amar singh in US must be fine tuning the deal. But without LEFT after 2009, the Lok sabha will be saffron. they have learnt theri lessons of 2004 and will not let go power if they win even 160 seats in 2009.

3

June 30, 2008

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