Indian PM Manmohan Singh has reasons to smile now. The boiling Indo-US nuclear deal issue has been a thorn to Mr. Singh's Prime Ministerial crown for long until the UPA government won the July 22 confidence motion.
He proved to the opposition and the Left that they cannot keep the government on ransom by blowing the nuclear issue. Manmohan Singh in fact did a dare devilry act by facing the confidence motion at a time when the government is drawing flak from all quarters due to the price spike.
It was a win-win situation for both the UPA and the Left, who was eyeing for a third front with Mayawati in the driving seat.
But despite Left's working out on complex political equations and calculations, UPA boat sailed through the troubled waters with ease. Thanks to a highly skilled and very calculative Amar Singh (Samaj Wadi party) who 'captained' the UPA boat to the shore.
The saffron brigade also suffered heavily when some of its MPs swapped sides. Some indulged in cross voting and some abstained from the confidence motion. The so called 'sting' where BJP MPs were seen flashing bundles of currency during the confidence motion allegedly offered to them by Samaj Wadi party leaders did not come to BJP’s favor.
With the confidence motion chaos over, Manmohan Singh can hurry up the nuclear deal with the US. If the deal makes through, Manmohan Singh will make history as the deal will be surpassing a 34 year old embargo the US has imposed on India after the first nuclear explosion India conducted in 1974.
As per the government's version the signing of the N-deal will ensure energy security and expensive nuclear technology to India. As per the agreement the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will enable India to receive sufficient Uranium for its civil nuclear reactors from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which has 45 countries as its members.
But many Indian scientists and diplomats oppose the deal fearing it would clip India's Nuclear sovereignty. According to Mr. Yogesh Tiwary, retired IFS officer (Indo-US Nuclear Deal: A Curtain Raiser -III by Yogesh Tiwary) the clauses in the Indo-US prohibits India to conduct further nuclear tests even if situations demand so. Further, India cannot re-process spent fuel from the reactors without prior consent. This means further complication and Increase in the cost of storage of spent-fuel (Indo-US Nuclear Deal: A Curtain Raiser -II by Yogesh Tiwary).
The deal will stand cancelled automatically in the wake of a fresh nuclear test by India. In that case India has to return all the nuclear fuel, technology and equipment it has received from the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Mr. Siddharth Varadarajan in his article 'The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal' warns that India's alliance with the US will force India to re-draft its economic and strategic polices in the line of American interest.
So whether the Indo-US nuclear deal is a 'boon' or 'bane' for the future of India is something that all of us should wait and see. After all...seeing is believing...
He proved to the opposition and the Left that they cannot keep the government on ransom by blowing the nuclear issue. Manmohan Singh in fact did a dare devilry act by facing the confidence motion at a time when the government is drawing flak from all quarters due to the price spike.
It was a win-win situation for both the UPA and the Left, who was eyeing for a third front with Mayawati in the driving seat.
But despite Left's working out on complex political equations and calculations, UPA boat sailed through the troubled waters with ease. Thanks to a highly skilled and very calculative Amar Singh (Samaj Wadi party) who 'captained' the UPA boat to the shore.
The saffron brigade also suffered heavily when some of its MPs swapped sides. Some indulged in cross voting and some abstained from the confidence motion. The so called 'sting' where BJP MPs were seen flashing bundles of currency during the confidence motion allegedly offered to them by Samaj Wadi party leaders did not come to BJP’s favor.
With the confidence motion chaos over, Manmohan Singh can hurry up the nuclear deal with the US. If the deal makes through, Manmohan Singh will make history as the deal will be surpassing a 34 year old embargo the US has imposed on India after the first nuclear explosion India conducted in 1974.
As per the government's version the signing of the N-deal will ensure energy security and expensive nuclear technology to India. As per the agreement the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will enable India to receive sufficient Uranium for its civil nuclear reactors from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which has 45 countries as its members.
But many Indian scientists and diplomats oppose the deal fearing it would clip India's Nuclear sovereignty. According to Mr. Yogesh Tiwary, retired IFS officer (Indo-US Nuclear Deal: A Curtain Raiser -III by Yogesh Tiwary) the clauses in the Indo-US prohibits India to conduct further nuclear tests even if situations demand so. Further, India cannot re-process spent fuel from the reactors without prior consent. This means further complication and Increase in the cost of storage of spent-fuel (Indo-US Nuclear Deal: A Curtain Raiser -II by Yogesh Tiwary).
The deal will stand cancelled automatically in the wake of a fresh nuclear test by India. In that case India has to return all the nuclear fuel, technology and equipment it has received from the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Mr. Siddharth Varadarajan in his article 'The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal' warns that India's alliance with the US will force India to re-draft its economic and strategic polices in the line of American interest.
So whether the Indo-US nuclear deal is a 'boon' or 'bane' for the future of India is something that all of us should wait and see. After all...seeing is believing...
