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The parleys preceding the nuke deal have so badly exposed Indian politicians and the media that it defies logic that this nation aspires to be a global player
Sections of the media lamented the PM’s obstinacy in focusing on the nuclear deal and ignoring the inflation tormenting the common man. But if the nuclear deal was scuttled, would inflation come down? If inflation was down, would these critics support the nuclear deal? Did they support the nuclear deal when inflation wasn’t high? The answer to all three questions is an emphatic no. Then why link the two issues? These critics describe the PM’s obsession in promoting the N-deal as obstinacy. They describe the Left’s obsession in blocking the deal as consistency. Prejudice is sacred, adjectives are free.
Politicians are no better than the media. Mulayam Singh was a staunch critic of the deal as well as of the Congress. Suddenly he’s found virtues in both. Meanwhile, opponents are keeping a close watch over what happens to the court cases against him. Can the public be blamed for cynically concluding that there is a deal within a deal? Consider the horrendous implications. If bargains can be struck on court cases, what of our system of justice?
Mayawati overplayed her hand. So the prospects of her court cases remain bleak. No wonder she’s furious. No wonder she suddenly summoned sympathy for the Muslims who oppose the deal.
The Left met the UPA umpteen times to discuss the deal. It considers the deal a threat to national security and independence. Yet it never pulled the plug to topple the government although the Congress never wavered in going ahead with the deal. Now the Left will hold nationwide protests against policies which it allowed the government to pursue for four years.
The BJP initiated the nuclear deal. But in the opposition, it naturally opposed the deal—what else is the opposition for? It raised objections about impediments to nuclear testing. Vajpayee as PM had unilaterally declared that India would renounce nuclear tests. Brajesh Mishra piloted negotiations on the deal for the BJP. He expressed satisfaction that no blanket ban on testing existed. But Advani did not relent.
The nuclear deal seems less and less relevant. The worry now is about the collapse of India’s political system. Termites are eating relentlessly through its walls. We have nowhere to go.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)