UPA’ s trust vote

The count down to the crucial trust vote to be moved by the UPA government on the 22nd July in the Lok Sabha has begun. Hectic parleys by political parties are going on to garner as much support as possible to their view point. The UPA and its allies strongly supporting the Indo-US nuclear deal are trying their best to rope in the undecided MPs numbering 11 belonging to smaller parties like the JD(S) of Deve Gowda (2 MPs), National Conference of Omar Abdullah (2 MPs), Rastriya LokDal of Ajit Singh (3MPs) etc whose votes would decide the fate of the trust vote. The Left Parties are leaving no stone unturned to defeat the trust vote at all cost, making friends with erstwhile enemies and joining hands with fundamentalist party like the BJP, which the veteran communist leader Jyoti Basu considered greater enemy than the Indo-US nuclear deal. The CPI(M) MPs from West Bengal expressed their uneasiness at the prospect of voting along with their enemy– the BJP. The issue of resignation of Somnath Chatterjee, as Speaker of the Lok Sabha seems to have divided the party. Somnath Chatterjee was unhappy for dragging the name of the Speaker in the list of MPs withdrawing support to the government submitted by CPI(M) General Secretary, Prakash Karat to the President of India. He has indicated that if he had to resign as the Speaker, he would like to resign as MP also. The CPI(M) has now joined hands with Mayawati and expect 17 BSP MPs to vote against the trust motion. It would a be neck to neck fight and every vote would be crucial.The bone of contention between the UPA and the Left Parties-the India Safeguard Agreement submitted to the IAEA has now been made public. It is doubtful if all the parties and all the MPs have studied this important document. Brajesh Misra, National Security Adviser during NDA regime and a trusted policy adviser of the then Prune Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee has termed the document as the best possible agreement under the present circumstances .He also commented that renegotiation of the deal after coming to power by the BJP would be difficult and might be impossible. The BJP has distanced itself from Mishra’s well considered opinion but did not dare to silence him by taking disciplinary action. Nor is the deal anti Muslim as propogated by Mayawati. Muslim MPs have found that the deal has nothing to do with religion and several of them have openly given support to the deal. The future of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi rests on winning the trust vote. Let us hope that every one will see the light today so that tomorrow will not be dark. source: assam tribune editorial 15.07.08