by CKR
Here is the statement of the Indian Communist Party's Politburo:
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on August 17 and 18, 2007. It unanimously adopted the following resolution:Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan commentsThe Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) fully endorsed the stand taken by the Left parties on the bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation with the United States. The statement of the Left parties has set out comprehensively the reasons why the agreement is not acceptable.
The agreement should be seen in the light of the Hyde Act passed by the US Congress and in the context of the wider implications of India being bound into a strategic alliance with the United States and its adverse consequences for an independent foreign policy, sovereignty and the economic interests of the people. The Polit Bureau is of the firm opinion that going ahead with this agreement will not serve India’s interests.
Given the widespread opposition to the agreement and the fact that a majority in parliament do not support the nuclear cooperation deal, the government should not proceed further with the agreement.
Till all the objections are considered and the implications of the Hyde Act evaluated, the government should not take the next step with regard to negotiating a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
It is for the Congress leadership to decide on the matter which will have serious consequences for the Government and the country.
The Polit Bureau decided to take the issue of the nuclear agreement and the dangers of the strategic alliance with the United States to the people through a nationwide mass campaign.
The Left parties will be meeting soon to discuss all other related matters.
If the CPI(M) withdraws support , the current Manmohan Singh government will be voted out .One of our recent commenters thought it unlikely that the government would be voted out, but either he was wrong or things have changed.
A few Indian commenters are pointing out that India's 123 agreement gives India much more than China's gave it.
The enabling legislation that the US Congress passed (Hyde Act) included the requirement that cooperation be ended if India carries out a nuclear test. That, and a recent statement by State Department spokesman Sean McCormick, are part of what has the Indian hard-liners up in arms. The Times of India has a summary of where things seem to be. The administration seems to be walking back McCormick's statement, but the Indian opposition parties are unlikely to be assured that their sovereign right to test will not be interfered with.
Here in the US, Jim Hoagland assures us that Prime Minister Singh will survive a vote of no confidence.