Editorial...

Indo-US deal
Stands on NDA foundation

A building or a nation can stand tall only if it has a solid foundation. This truth got further fortified on March 2 when Indo-US Nuclear deal was struck. The foundation of this historic edifice was dug deep and sound on May 11 and 13, 1998 with the deafening sound of the Pokhran nuclear blasts in the brave lands of Rajasthan that rattled the whole world. If the momentous events of those two days had not happened, nothing of the sort that has happened in New Delhi on March 2 could – and would – have taken place. These blasts changed the very tone and tenor of the world statesmen towards India. These were the blasts that shot off the country’s prestige horizon high. Even the worst critics of those blasts must have now realised the futility of their opposition at that time. The recent deal should inspire everybody in the country to rise above partisan party lines to give the credit where it is rightly due.

We all should feel grateful to the great statesman Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his NDA team for their foresight because of which today India is recognised as the sixth Nuclear Weapons Power in the world. He is the visionary who recognised and respected the calibre of our great scientists and gave them a free hand to develop the nuclear capability and gave the go-ahead for Pokhran blasts. That was the moment our nuclear scientists were anxiously waiting for since decades.

World’s top intelligence agencies who keep an eye on us through satellites also felt humbled when they too were dumb-struck by the nuclear test blasts. They had failed to get the slightest inkling of what was going on in our nuclear front. No Indian worth his salt could fail to feel proud at this great marvel which raised the nation’s head high. Everybody now recognised that India had arrived on the world scene and nobody could dare to challenge us . It heralded a sea-change in the world outlook towards us. The international community turned attentive to our voice. We started to be taken note of. World powers started consulting India on vital matters concerning the continent and the world polity.

When US President George Bush came to India and recognised that India had evolved itself into a powerful nation and will emerge as a power to reckon with in the days to come, he was not showering a false praise on us. He meant each word that came out of his mouth. As long as we were weak and dependent on others, we were looked down upon as parasites who every now and then were making rounds of developed nations with begging bowls.

India is no longer a weak country that anybody could threaten it. We first made ourselves powerful and that made the powerful countries to change their attitude towards us. Otherwise, these powers would have given us the same treatment that USA is giving to Pakistan today.

Now the world perception of India has altered significantly. For this revolutionary change the whole nation, every political party must, without hesitation and reservation, give the credit to Shri Vajpayee. The intelligentsia had at that time in 1998 itself accepted this reality.

The Opposition too did play its role where it could. When the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Shri L. K. Advani met the US President he did, which perhaps Manmohan government did not, raise the issue of cross border terrorism from Pakistan. President Bush assured that USA will extend full cooperation in combating it.

The Bush visit to India also attracted voices of protest from J&K to Kerala. The Left parties created a ruckus in Parliament and shouted themselves hoarse outside on the roads. They were joined by Samajwadi Party, RJD, BSP and some other small groups. A section of Muslim community was also vocal in its protest against President Bush. Their protests turned violent at some places and in Lucknow resulted in 4 people getting killed in police firing.

It is a strange paradox that monarchs and rulers of some countries are with USA while their people were against it. But the anti-Bush hysteria had another angle in the country’s political atmosphere. It is widely believed that the display of protests against President Bush was less to do with principles and more with the coming Vidhan Sabha elections in five States. It now looks clear that Muslim rage against US President will get percolated down to the Congress performance in the coming elections. Even otherwise, the fact has got driven home to the Muslim mind that for Congress they are nothing more than a vote bank to be encashed during elections. With that selfish interest in view, Congress and UPA have, of late, turned generous in extending benefits to minorities. The situation has come to such a pass that the majority (Hindus) has started getting the feeling that under UPA dispensation it is increasingly turning to be a curse to belong to majority community.

The events after the Indo-US deal also brought out the fact that some people are not opposing the deal but only the aggressive policies of Bush administration. Others are not against US policies but against the pressure it exerted to force India to sign the agreement. Still others are against the very deal itself. Lack of transparency in the deal is largely responsible for the confusion and misgivings. It is therefore, the duty of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh take the country into confidence about the implications of the deal. Our PM and President both have claimed the deal to be in the interest of both the nations. More important than the satisfaction of these two leaders is the satisfaction of the peoples of the two countries. This can be achieved only if they succeed in convincing their people of the genuineness of their respective claims.

The real test of the deal lies in safeguarding the national interests. There will be allegations and counter-allegations, but the Government will have to be clear and come clean with its actions. In a democracy, it is always the duty of the party in power to ensure that the Opposition is always taken in confidence in matters involving national interest. But, unfortunately, it is here that the present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has always been found wanting.

Bush visit has also led to the Left parties getting exposed. The fire they were emitting against USA for the last so many days before his visit got cooled down to just an ineffectual breeze of symbolic protest. Instead of being firm on their ideology, they now seem to be desperately on the look out for some face-saver. The whole country has seen through the Left game by the way the fiery laal salaam (red salute) lay prostrated before the ruling party in its anxiety to, come what may, keep itself on the right side of power. In the process, its cadres got befooled. It may try to pat its back, yet the reality has dawned on its cadres and sympathisers because of duplicity of its conduct. Leftists’ hypocrisy is evident from the fact that they opposed President Bush but did not consider the nuclear deal an issue serious enough to “rock” UPA which laid a red carpet for US President overlooking all their opposition and protests. Whom are the Leftists then befooling—the people of India or themselves? How long can this hypocrisy last?