tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post3782523701335913860..comments2024-03-01T13:51:47.721+05:30Comments on Reality, one bite at a time: Don’t use Muslims as crutch on nuclear dealSiddharth Varadarajanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07721228307097170092noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post-5831899633606043452008-07-19T12:35:00.000+05:302008-07-19T12:35:00.000+05:30The author does not seem to be an apolitical perso...The author does not seem to be an apolitical person and seems to be a BJP baiter, in which case there would be no merit in any discussions on his professed views. He somehow rationalises the CPM leaders foolish statement of muslims disenchantment with the effects of the Indo US Nuclear deal by stating that the CPM president had immediately corrected the perception and therefore things are prisite and clear. There is a lot of bigotry in his reference to the BJP.<BR/><BR/>Going by the general mood, there is a lot of debate (Healthy and otherwise)on the usefulness or otherwise of the nuclear deal. If anybody has let down the Country, it is the Communist parties in India. If they had serious reservations about the deal, being the party propping up the government, it should have made things very clear to the Government, at the very outset that they will oppose the deal at all costs. Then the Government of the day could have contended with the issue and taken such corrective measure as needed, one possibility, of which, could also be to seek a fresh mandate.<BR/><BR/>But here was the catch. Communists, known for their attitude of enjoying power without accountability, would not have the fluke of 60 or more of their MP's imposed on the Country, another time, so instead of being forthright in their negation of the deal, set in motion the various parleys where they kept yielding little by little, even while throwing enough sound bytes to convey that they were still opposed to the deal. But Congress was good enough to call their bluff and the Left is history. So instead of ruing for their arrogance, they seem to spewing venon on all and sundry, willing to embrace people whom they held with scorn. The party has also proved that when it comes to power they are no different from the Congress or other regional parties (example Speaker refusing to toe the line and the CPM President who was (and is) strident with the Congress, suddenly going very soft on him).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post-1120026182872882322008-07-18T19:24:00.000+05:302008-07-18T19:24:00.000+05:30Anon - You are the one who brought in "support" fo...Anon - You are the one who brought in "support" for BJP anbd Congress as some kind of barometer.<BR/><BR/>I can't say whether the majority oppose the N deal; my hunch is that they do not. But military-strategic alliance, definitely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post-74985788620033190742008-07-18T14:36:00.000+05:302008-07-18T14:36:00.000+05:30I wouldn't claim that "my sense of the mood around...I wouldn't claim that "my sense of the mood around me" as the mood of the "majority of Indians"!<BR/><BR/>BJP+Congress having only less than 50 per cent has a lot to do with the dynamics of local politics and hardly anything to do with Indo-US alliance. (BJP and Congress leave 25% of the total seats for their local allies to contest)<BR/><BR/>It is suffice to say that the combined vote percentage of left front parties in India is less than 10 per cent. The rest of the parties wouldn't mind India having some kind of strategic alliance with the US.<BR/><BR/>I wonder what are you implying when you said "as well as now" ? Are you saying that the majority of Indians oppose Indo-US nuclear deal ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post-18572389074865816372008-07-17T17:06:00.000+05:302008-07-17T17:06:00.000+05:30No evidence other than my sense of the mood around...No evidence other than my sense of the mood around me at various crucial points in time, such as July 2003, when the Vajpayee government toyed with the idea of sending Indian soldiers to Iraq, as well as now.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, the 2004 elections marked the first time in Indian electoral history when the combined vote share of the Congress and BJP/Janata/Jana Sangh fell below 50 per cent.<BR/><BR/>SiddharthSiddharth Varadarajanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721228307097170092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13437119.post-55100549486645143452008-07-17T11:48:00.000+05:302008-07-17T11:48:00.000+05:30Dear Varadarajan,You wrote:Even if they are agnost...Dear Varadarajan,<BR/><BR/>You wrote:<BR/><I>Even if they are agnostic about the deal, the majority of Indians (including the majority of Muslims) are opposed to any kind of military or strategic alliance with the U.S. </I><BR/><BR/>What is the basis of this statement ? How do you know that the majority of Indians are opposed to any kind of strategic alliance with the U.S. ? <BR/><BR/>As far as I understand majority of Indians are not against India having some kind of strategic (and military) alliance with the US. Majority of Indians either vote for Congress (I) or BJP and these parties are not opposed to such an alliance with the US. So I wonder what do you mean by this ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com