Wednesday, July 09, 2008

What's In Store Now? Does The Hindu know?

Today’s lead editorial makes some dubious observations.


In fact, without the SP fielding a parliamentary strength way above what the ground situation in Mayawati-ruled Uttar Pradesh reflects today, there was no way the Congress-led regime could have planned to take its draft safeguards agreement to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Quite true but is the parliamentary strength of any party reflected in the ground situation of today? Would the communist parties win as many seats today as they did four years ago?


Among other things, this has meant breaking a written commitment to subject the “outcome” of the talks with the IAEA secretariat to the “findings” of the UPA-Left coordination committee that was set up to resolve the differences on the nuclear issues.

But the outcome of the talks was indeed revealed to the Left. The ‘findings’ of the UPA-Left coordination committee would, given their established political positions, would quite likely have been split along party lines making it very likely that it would not have resolved anything at the end of the day. The committee, as Yashwant Sinha pointed out, was created to buy time, nothing more. Had the committee, by a UPA-led majority issued its ‘findings’ along with a dissent by the Left, how would it have changed the outcome? It would still have meant that the Left was not on board bringing the ruling coalition to the very same position at the end of the day. What was needed to make the committee’s work relevant and useful was a political breakthrough between the two sides which never came and not for the lack of trying by members of the UPA. For this reason, it cannot be said that the UPA went back on its word; the failure of the primary purpose of the committee, namely, ‘to resolve the differences on the nuclear issues’ rendered it obsolete and was overtaken by other political events.

The cost of the high-risk, potentially destabilising deal with the Samajwadi Party will be known as the intriguing situation develops.

Wrong. It was the withdrawal of support that is destabilizing. The deal with the SP is an effort to restore stability.


Assuming it survives the floor test, it will still be in for a politically turbulent period at a time of double-digit inflation that is climbing by the week.
Really? I think it is more likely to lead to a stable period of about six months to a year until the Lok Sabha elections next year. Without its communist ‘allies’ in perennial agitation mode hurling threats and insults day in and day out, the government is more likely to gain a respite than headaches.

9 comments:

Dirt Digger said...

Apparently Chindu has cut down on proof reading,for instance-->
Congress political managers are counting on Mr. Mulayam Singh and Mr. Amar Singh, in the company of some fence-sitting small parties and independents, to bale out the Manmohan Singh

By providing bales of hay. Nice writing LiC.
Chindu frowns upon the Congress-SP alliance as a marriage of convenience stating -->

According to press reports, the SP leaders have tried to leverage their support by pressing special interest demands such as the imposition of a windfall profit tax on oil companies


If one were to follow the same train of thought, so was the UPA-Left alliance which was formed on 2 premises, keep the BJP out of power and follow a rag-tag CMP.
Chindu follow selective amnesia when it comes to analysis.

Anonymous said...

So, according to comrade editor, only the commies have the right to threaten, blackmail and boss over the Congress party. If any other party (what a pity, from its own so-called third front) does it then it becomes high-risk, potentially destabilising etc. etc.

Poor Chindu, used to seeing everything with its yellow secular glasses and used to heaping praises on videshi mataji, the latest developments should have come as a high-voltage shock from which the chief may take a long time to recover.

Chief who has observed politics for decades and also indirectly dabbled in it, miserably failted to anticipate this kind of games in which the desi politicians are quite adept.

And no criticism or threats to Karunanidhi for continuing to be part of the UPA, still extracting support from the commies in the state!

cbcnn_Pilid said...

Right DD. All political alliances involve negotiating various interests and compromises. Just as the Left has secured numerous concessions over the last few years, the SP is now going to claim and receive its pound of flesh. There is nothing exceptionable about it; so for the paper to raise a fuss about it suddenly is duplicitous.

Anon #1,
You are right that Ram failed to anticipate this - otherwise, he would not have declared the deal dead prematurely. I suppose this was because he was convinced that the Congress which had not attempted any maneurver in the past would not do so in the future either.

tat_tvam_asi said...

WOW!! Three of today's top six headlines are devoted to LK Advani's views!!! My head is spinning!!

Anonymous said...

"N. Ram interviews top BJP leader L.K. Advani on the present political crisis, the nuclear deal, election prospects, and other key issues. The one-hour indepth interview was conducted at the residence of the Leader of the Opposition on Wednesday."

Comrade goes to the den of the much hated "communalist" and starts the interview with abundant respect, 'Advaniji'.

Then, the Chief predicts the crowning of 'Advaniji'!!

"One last question on this particular issue. I think the BJP's position is, should you come into government, as is distinctly possible....".

Folks have to pinch themselves to see if the whole thing is real or surreal.

Looks like BJP has got a new drumbeater.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/11/stories/2008071155691100.htm

Anonymous said...

My guess is that Karat must have sent Ram to meet Advani as a CPM man and discus how to cooperate to oppose the deal..(or something to that effect) And to make Advani happy he must have taken a one hour interview...

cbcnn_Pilid said...

Shankar and Anons #2 and #3, I saw that too. I am obviously surprised to see the Chief interviewing Advani. I do see this as a strategic initiative. For one thing, giving Advani and the BJP good press may help ensure continued access in the corridors of South Block after the election should the BJP manage to return to power as Ram already has predicted. For another, as Anon #3points out, it is also good publicity for the communist agenda of opposing the deal where regardless of the reasons behind it, the two sides can make common cause in voting against the deal. Killing two birds with one stone. Not a bad move at all.

Anonymous said...

Have you guys seen this news from the times of India and the following news from Xinhua ?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/10/content_8525819.htm

Did you note the mention of about a
"holy war" there ? -- a holy war against our LiC's fatherland. That reminded me about this
famous editorial
from the chief.

Following that train of thought, I wonder what made these men participate in such a "holy war" against "a society that nurtured them" ? -- was it the "Iraq war" ?! Could it be "cultural alienation and experiences of racism" ?!
Could it be the "anger against the U.S. and the United Kingdom" ?!
Or don't they have "inclusive societies free from Islamophobia" there in the Chinese heaven ?!
In any case It CANNOT be "Muslim rage" for sure!

Anonymous said...

Chindu seems to be going great with the second part of the interview with Advani'ji'. Looks like chief has almost started campaigning for BJP. Now the enemy is Manmohan Singh, rather than the Congress party itself (after all, Sonia madam and Pranabda are good folks, sympathetic to comrades).