India's political parties
A study of democracy is incomplete without a study of one of its most fundamental components—political parties. In India, works on the country’s political parties so far have explored, among other things,
Political Parties
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N-energy the best option: Left should relent
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has once again reiterated the commitment of the government towards generating energy for needs of the country.
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No let-up in Left's N-opposition
The government's assurance to Left leaders that all apprehensions raised by the latter regarding the nuclear deal had been taken care of failed to move the Left to ratchet down its opposition to the
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Now vote for us
It was perhaps a first for Palaniappan Chidambaram. He had a most unusual effect on Lok Sabha MPs last week. Minutes after he delivered his Budget speech, MPs across party lines were on the phone, cancelling weekend parties and making arrangements to head home.
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Oppn protest over power crisis
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday witnessed protest by members of entire Opposition showing electronic lamps.
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N-DEAL SHOWDOWN SOON
THE confrontation between the UPA and the Left over the Indo-US nuclear deal has entered the most crucial phase with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing his government's resolve to go ahead with the deal in Parliament and the Left seeking a meeting of the UPA-Left mechanism for discussing the contents of the negotiations with the IAEA. With the government working out a tentative timeline for taking the next step on the agreement, the meeting of the UPA-Left mechanism is expected to be convened before March 15. The leaders of the Left parties interpreted the prime ministerial assertions on the issue in Parliament as an indication of the regime's plans to finalise the text worked out with the IAEA. Although the prime minister refused to divulge details about the negotiations with the IAEA, there are indications to suggest that the text of the agreement is ready. Inside Parliament, the prime minister kept harping about working out a broader consensus within the country on the deal. "We will seek the broadest possible consensus within the country on the agreement. I believe this cooperation (with the US) is good for our energy security,' the prime minister told Parliament. But the Left leaders are not willing to buy into the assertion of the prime minister. For, the lack of political consensus was evident during the debate when a significant majority opposed the agreement. The disquiet in the Left was evident from the response of senior party leader Jyoti Basu to the prime minister's statement in the House. He hinted that the Left could soon sever ties with the UPA. "They are dependent on us. We are also dependent on them for keeping the BJP out of power. I do not know how long this arrangement would continue,' reports from Kolkata quoting Mr Basu said. Mr Basu also contested the government's stand that the Hyde Act will not be binding on India. "We have told them not to proceed in operationalising the deal. How can they say the Hyde Act is not binding on India,' Mr Basu said. The government leadership seems to be of the view that there was no political point in giving in to the biases of the Leftists. With the populist budget providing it the comfort level to take on the Leftists, the pro-deal sections have managed to get the Congress establishment on board in their efforts. Till the other day, the leadership of the Congress was quite unenthusiastic about the nuclear project of the government. But there are many imponderables. For the Congress leadership is yet to sound out the UPA partners on their plans on the deal. The Congress will have to factor in the views of partners like the RJD and the NCP. Parties such as the NCP are against a course that will annoy the Left. Atal Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics, says PM PM Manmohan Singh bestowed the title of "Bishma Pitamah of Indian politics' on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee while egging on the BJP to support the Indo-US nuclear deal in Parliament on Thursday. He said this while talking about the nuclear deal during his reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Upper House. Mr Singh said that after the former national security advisor to Mr Vajpayee, Brijesh Mishra, had "listened to the call of his conscience' and come out to support the deal, Mr Vajpayee who was "Bishma Pitamah of Indian politics' should let "national interest prevail over narrow political interests'. Mr Mishra, however, is no longer a BJP member.
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Seal The Deal
The nuclear pact is about ending India's isolation. Why oppose it? External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Parliament on Monday is a match report on the negotiations between the government and the IAEA as well as a clarification of the government's view of the nuclear deal for the benefit of its allies and the Opposition. He stressed three points. One, talks on an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA are about to be concluded and a happy conclusion would enable the Nuclear Suppliers Group to amend its guidelines and facilitate nuclear trade among member countries and New Delhi. Two, Indo-US civil nuclear commerce will be guided by the bilateral agreement, not by the Hyde Act. Three, the government will try to achieve a broad political consensus on the issue. Mukherjee's statement has come in the wake of a lot of chatter that the Indo-US nuclear deal is as good as dead. That is because there is no sign yet of the consensus that the government is seeking on the issue. The BJP sees the nuclear deal as a political issue to confront the UPA government and nothing else. The Left is blinded by a dead ideology and sees a red herring in improved relations with the US out of fear of
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N-deal back on table, sparking new Cong-Left spat
The nuclear deal has crawled back into the agenda, triggering fresh confrontation between Congress and the Left and strengthening speculation about early polls. Buoyed by the estimate that it can ride on the goodwill generated by the populist Budget to prolong its tenure at the Centre, Congress on Monday appeared to be getting ready to push the deal again. On a day when officials negotiating with IAEA returned with a draft of the safeguards agreement India needs to sign with the international nuclear watchdog to take the deal forward, the government suddenly upped the ante on the nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. The first sign of new assertiveness came from foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee. Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on foreign policy, he contested the Left's argument that the 123 agreement with the US would render India susceptible to America's domestic laws, like the Hyde Act. Even as this attracted a strong warning from CPM that going ahead with the deal would have "serious consequences' for the government, Congress dropped an even clearer and direct indication of its renewed keenness to push through the deal. Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi indicated that in the government's assessment, IAEA had come around to address India's concerns on the draft. "A vast area of divergence has been covered, ironed out in the fifth round of talks,' he said. Though Singhvi
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Left confident nuclear deal is dead and buried
Amidst speculation that the government, riding high on
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Ahead of polls, BPL politics in Chhattisgarh
in december 2007, the Chhattisgarh government estimated that the state had 2.14 million people below poverty line (bpl) families in the state. A month later, while launching a new food assistance
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A bird flu over the commie nest
ABHIJIT VINAYAK BANERJEE I was trying to think what I would do if I were a chicken-owner and it looked like the flu had arrived in the village. I would worry, of