Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Nuclear deal

The Left parties have threatened to withdraw support to the UPA government if it goes ahead with the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. But will it have the desired effect? The Congress is bent on signing the nuclear agreement, disregarding the Left. To make their opposition to the deal clear, the Left parties should not only withdraw support to the UPA government now but also declare that they will not support a Congress-led coalition after the next Lok Sabha election.

S. Raghunatha Prabhu,

Alappuzha

I never thought the nuclear deal would have influence in destabilising an elected government. The people as well as their representatives were not informed about the deal in a transparent manner to form their own views. All negotiations, including the draft of specific safeguards, have been kept a secret. We have a Prime Minister who says he will discuss the deal in Parliament after he completes the process of negotiations with the IAEA and the NSG. We, the people, fail to understand the validity of his argument. Under such fluid circumstances, anyone would expect the ruling coalition to take a confidence vote in Parliament first.

Gp Capt N. Neelakantan (retd.),

Bangalore

Why doesn’t Prime Minister Manmohan Singh understand that he is representing the whole nation and that the nation is entitled to know what he is doing on behalf of it? The fact that his party came up with the best governing arrangement in 2004 does not mean he can proceed with the nuclear deal without taking its pros and cons into consideration. It was a Congress-led government that opened the nation’s door to globalisation and promoted economic liberalisation. And who is facing its consequences now? The poor and the common people. There are many other issues that are crying for attention. It will be better if he drops the idea of signing the deal and draws up policies to promote alternatives to nuclear energy for self-reliance.

V. Akhila,

Bangalore

The Congress must tread cautiously in accepting the support of the Samajwadi Party to ensure a few months more in power. It will be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Mulayam Singh is not coming forward to help the UPA government in the interest of the nation. It is only the local politics of Uttar Pradesh that has moved him closer to the UPA government. The best course for the Prime Minister in the circumstances would be to dissolve Parliament and go to the people.

Arulur N. Balasubramanian,

Chennai

One can only sympathise with the UPA government that is indulging in short-sighted adventurism. Going ahead with the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal without a political consensus is disturbing. But to suggest that the Congress is going directionless is far-fetched. The government’s do-or-die stand may turn out to be a strategic vision.

K.S. Thampi,

Chennai

The government, no doubt, is bound to curb inflation if it wants to survive. But there are other important things to which it is expected to attend. Not all of them, including the nuclear deal, may be directly linked to the aam aadmi. But every act of the government will have an impact on the common man sooner or later. The nuclear deal is certainly positive for the overall development and security of the country, and hence of great use to the aam aadmi.