"Power without responsibility . . . .
. . . . - the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages." So said Stanley Baldwin, borrowing a phrase from a letter written by his cousin Rudyard Kipling. He was talking about the press barons of his time and what in his sight was their irresponsible and abusive journalism.
In today's India though, the phrase would apply well to the Communist parties. Supporting the present Congress led government as they are from 'outside' - they are not part of the government, in the sense that they are not responsible for running any ministry as some other members of the coalition are. However, they can threaten the government by 'withdrawing support' in the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, and thereby reduce the government to a minority. Well, the communists have enjoyed this 'prerogative of the harlot', ever since the present government was formed after a surprise win for the Congress led coalition in the 2004 general elections. However, thus far, apart from making noises from time to time, they have not seriously tried to use their irresponsible power.
Enter the Indo-US Nuclear Agreement.
This was first broached in July 2005 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the US for a summit meeting with President Bush. Over time, through many tangled negotiations, the deal details were trashed out in form of the "123 Agreement" which India and the US inked in August this year. That was when the communists went ballistic - though the ones in the People's Republic of China were more muted in their criticism.
Now the Communist Parties in India have threatened to pull the plugs on the government - which they never were part of - over the issue. They argue that the nuclear agreement, but more broadly, the shift in India's (and US) foreign policy towards a closer strategic business as well as military partnership with the US, is not in the interests of the people of India. Exactly how they conclude that energy security, less dependence on middle-eastern oil, potentially a smaller import bill, cleaner energy, etc., are against the interests of the people of India, I do not understand. Instead, the Communists are advocating an 'Asian energy grid' that involves co-operation with China and Russia.
This is demented logic. China's track record does not inspire confidence that it will be a reliable partner for India. Apart from the 1962 war, the claims on Indian territory, and the dispute over Sikkim, China continues to supply weapons, military technology - including nuclear technology to Pakistan. Russia on the other hand has been seen as a 'friend' of India since Soviet times. However, the Russia of today has very different foreign policy priorities and nothing concrete or substantial, in terms of long term benefits for India, has come out of the several senior and summit level interactions with the Russians in the recent past. All this not withstanding, even if China and Russia can be banked upon to work with India to help evolve a strategic energy co-operation plan, nothing in the nuclear co-operation agreement with the US stops us from going ahead with other agreements with other nations. These agreements need not be mutually exclusive.
The last straw in all this is the sheer hypocrisy of the communists. In states where they form the government, specifically in West Bengal, they are actively courting US investments! And the state politicians have gone on record saying that they would welcome nuclear energy supply made available with US technology, in their state!!!
All this has led many Indian political commentators to question the loyalties of the Indian communists. As it seems that in terms of foreign policy, Communist China would benefit the most from the scuttling of the deal and the setback to the Indo-US strategic partnership this could lead to.
Anyway, as it seems, the Communists are determined to scuttle the deal. I do hope the government will stand by their international commitments and not renege on the agreement, even if it leads the Communists to bring down the government and force an early election on the country. I hope my country-men see through the communists for the irresponsible traitors they are and return the Congress to power with a clear mandate.
I for one will be voting for this deal.