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Left dilemma : How to eat the cake and have it too |
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B.I. Saini
The Left’s double speak on the India-US civilian nuclear deal and on continuation of support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre is increasingly coming to the fore with every passing day.
The Left parties, especially the CPI(M) which heads the Communist combine, are now saying that they are not opposed to nuclear power. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat articulating the party viewpoint on Saturday, Sept. 22, said that though the party is in favour of developing nuclear energy, this does not mean supporting the nuclear deal with the United States. But significantly, he did not spell out how the CPI(M) hopes that India will get access to nuclear material and technology without operationalising the 123 agreement with the US and without entering into safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and getting the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to relax the restrictions on supply of nuclear material and technology to India. Karat’s statement came after remarks from top leaders of the party in West Bengal indicating differences with the hardline posture of the general secretary. The ball was set rolling by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who came out last week in favour of nuclear power as one of the sources for meeting the country’s future energy requirements. He said that issues like the Prime Minister’s call for a nuclear renaissance, the cost of setting up nuclear power plants and the price of electricity generated by them need to be debated by scientists and a consensus arrived at. Earlier, the CPI(M) and other Left parties had been rejecting the nuclear deal and the need for nuclear power on the ground that it was too costly and more expensive than other sources of energy, which could be tapped.
Veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu, later in the week, came out in support of the Chief Minister’s view and said that though the party is opposed to what he called American imperialism, there is no bar on maintaining trade relations with the super power or developing alternative nuclear energy in West Bengal.
Jyoti Basu also expressed the hope that differences with the UPA on the nuclear issue would be sorted out, averting the prospects of early general elections.
Another significant statement from the Left last week asked the Manmohan Singh government to put a pause on operationalisation of the India-US nuclear deal for at least six months. Prakash Karat said the Government should not buckle under what he called US pressure. He said Parliament should debate the nuclear deal first and the Government should also consider what he called “widespread opinion” among scientists and intellectuals against the deal.
The statements coming from the Left make it clear that while there are differences in the CPI(M) itself on the nuclear deal and its implications, the party does not want to abandon its “total” opposition to the agreement with the US. Talk of a six-month pause shows that while the Left would like to scuttle the deal, which the delay is likely to lead to, it is not looking forward to a snap Lok Sabha poll. The party’s leaders in West Bengal, with their ears close to the ground, are aware that it would be very difficult for the Left parties to repeat their performance of the last general elections held in 2004, when the party could secure about 40 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Opinion polls carried out by TV channels also indicate that the Left parties may not be able to retain their strength in the Lok Sabha in a fresh poll.
With the Congress making it clear that there is no going back on the nuclear deal with the United States and the Government informally starting talks with the IAEA and the US approaching the NSG, the Left’s dilemma is acute - how to scuttle the deal and not face fresh elections.
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