February 28, 2006
 

The nuclear deal and unclear opposition

The India-US nuclear deal signed last year has had its share of detractors. There has been a lot of talk about whether India was pressurized into twice siding with the US over the vote against Iran in the IAEA board meeting.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a 'suo motu' statement yesterday where he defended the deal and made it clear that India's military programme would not be compromised during the separation process. A column by Placid Rodriguez, former Director of the IGCAR, Kalpakkam, looks at the deal from an interestingly different perspective. He reckons that a stagnant US civilian nuclear programme stands to lose a lot more if the deal doesn't come through.

Meanwhile there is a lot of opposition to US President George Bush's visit to India tomorrow. Although my letter published in 'The Hindu' was in a different context, the gist still holds good. Protests, as long as peaceful, can be tolerated in a democracy. The moment they turn violent, regardless of the political affiliations of those involved, it is the duty [and right] of the government to protect citizens from law and order problems. Arundhati Roy is amongst the 'Go home' brigade.

I don't really care much for his visit. If he'd visited Bangalore, we may have at least seen some urgent filling of pot-holes etc. to make the city look better. Of course, I do wonder where all these protestors went when Pervez Musharraf came to India to watch a cricket match. So a dictator, responsible for Kargil & the problems in Jammu & Kashmir, is acceptable, but not George Bush? I find that hard to swallow!

Labels: iran, musharraf, nuclear, nuclear agreement, pakistan