Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is often described, not entirely without reason, as a somewhat passive and non-confrontational leader — an accidental politician, with the real strings being pulled, behind the scenes, by Sonia Gandhi. (Manmohan may wear the Pagri, but Sonia wears the pants, as it were.)
However, in the speech he gave yesterday in the Indian Parliament before the Confidence Vote (which the UPA government won, by about 20 votes), Manmohan Singh showed no signs of meekness or passivity. Indeed, his take-down of BJP leader L.K. Advani is rhetorically ferocious. I was impressed:
“The Leader of Opposition, Shri L.K. Advani has chosen to use all manner of abusive objectives to describe my performance. He has described me as the weakest Prime Minister, a nikamma PM, and of having devalued the office of PM. To fulfill his ambitions, he has made at least three attempts to topple our government. But on each occasion his astrologers have misled him. This pattern, I am sure, will be repeated today. At his ripe old age, I do not expect Shri Advani to change his thinking. But for his sake and India’s sake, I urge him at least to change his astrologers so that he gets more accurate predictions of things to come.
As for Shri Advani’s various charges, I do not wish to waste the time of the House in rebutting them. All I can say is that before leveling charges of incompetence on others, Shri Advani should do some introspection. Can our nation forgive a Home Minister who slept when the terrorists were knocking at the doors of our Parliament? Can our nation forgive a person who single handedly provided the inspiration for the destruction of the Babri Masjid with all the terrible consequences that followed? To atone for his sins, he suddenly decided to visit Pakistan and there he discovered new virtues in Mr. Jinnah. Alas, his own party and his mentors in the RSS disowned him on this issue. Can our nation approve the conduct of a Home Minister who was sleeping while Gujarat was burning leading to the loss of thousands of innocent lives? Our friends in the Left Front should ponder over the company they are forced to keep because of miscalculations by their General Secretary. (link)
Unfortunately, I gather the din was too great for the speech to actually be heard. But hey, at least he tried to say it.
In terms of content, the only thing that seems off key here is the reference to Advani’s “ripe old age” — I’m not sure that a 75 year old man can really get away with that comment! (Advani, for reference, is even older — about 81.)
The rest of the speech (read it here in its entirety) is more focused on substantively defending the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal and the general policies of the current government. It is, by comparison to the above, a bit dull… but necessary.
In the interest of opposing dullness, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the second remarkable thing that happened in the chaotic Parliamentary session yesterday:
3 BJP MPs disrupted the session when they pulled wads of Rupees out of a bag, and claimed they had been paid to abstain from voting. (A video clip of the event can be seen here.)
The allegations are going to be investigated, of course, but my instinct is that it smells like a stunt. The three MPs say they met Amar Singh, who told them “we can’t give you very much money to abstain, because we have the votes to sustain the government.” That sounds like B.S. (why would the SP bother with bribes if the vote was already secure?). And the story of how they were actually physically given the money is also a bit questionable (see this report). Finally, they claim they have video proving the bribe took place — but where is that video? Why didn’t they leak that to the media as well?
Of course, if it comes out that there’s hard evidence supporting the claims of vote-buying, the currently fragile UPA government probably really will fall. And the government falls because they really did buy votes and abstentions this nakedly, I for one won’t be particularly sorry about it.
In the meanwhile, 8 BJP MPs have been expelled from the party for defying leadership, when they either abstained from voting or voted cross-party for the bill. And the Samajwadi Party has filed a procedural complaint (“breach of privilege”) against the 3 BJP MPs who pulled the stunt.
Coming out zinging is more like it! Good stuff!
So are the Communists upset that the deal went through? AWESOME. I hate Prakash Karat.
You nailed it… “Coming Out Zinging” would have been a much better title for this post.
I was tempted to do some riff on the new Akshay Kumar movie, “Singh is Kinng,” but decided not to sully the good PM’s name with a reference to the usual Bollywood kachra.
Considering it is kachra—-you have spent a lot of time talking about it!
Say it with pride. Singh is King. Singh is King. Singh is King.
India’s national newspaper says it, why should some South Asian object ? http://www.hindustantimes.com/FullCoverage/FullCoverage.aspx?Special=SinghisKing
All the TV channels today carried Singh is King logo today http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/2008/7/dac884bf-6793-4d0e-ba6b-f78b4e9ec052MediumRes.JPG
But I guess it must be kachra because South Asian has said so.
pure pwnage. i love these little tidbits from countries with more exciting systems of government.
Manmohan Singh rocks!
So Manmohand Zing mentions Babri Gujarat, (lets call it BG for easier recall next time) and skip any mention of the ethnic cleansing of Pandits, or the recent chaos over the Amarnath Shrine. Oh wait – they were protests over environmental concerns. While Gujarat was holocaust of peace loving muzzies.
But I guess it must be kachra because South Asian has said so.
I don’t mind if Indian newspapers relished this particular play on words, but I know my cinematic kachra when I see it — or are you just pissy because you expect that “Singh is Kinng” is going to be some kind of cinematic triumph? (Read the plot description and tell me if “kachra” isn’t the right word to use here.)
In short: another forgettable Akshay Kumar flop…
So Manmohand Zing mentions Babri Gujarat, (lets call it BG for easier recall next time) and skip any mention of the ethnic cleansing of Pandits,
You forgot to mention that he also got off a couple of nice zingers about astrologers.
Anyway, Manmohan Singh was simply standing up for himself, the government he has tried to lead, and principle. The most surreal aspect of this whole process is the fact that the BJP actually secretly supports this deal (Advani has admitted as much, that the constituents who vote BJP agree in principle with the deal), but they have put themselves on the line to try and kill it.
Their attempt to break the government was a nakedly cynical, opportunistic play for power; luckily, it failed. And they lost 8 MPs immediately as a result (guess who will be courting those principled turncoats tomorrow?). I wouldn’t be surprised if other casualties follow.
And it’s nonsensical of you to try and equate the morals of a person who flagrantly and knowingly incited communal violence for political gain (Advani) with Manmohan Singh, who had nothing to do with what happened in Kashmir, or any of Congress’ other failures (there have, admittedly, been many).
I see he’s learned well from Advani. Or perhaps from Bush.
Actually, Amardeep, I think that makes him much more likely to get away with it than the rest of us!
He never gave the reply. Due to the BJP MPs scandal, whenever he tried to start his speech, he was shouted down by the opposition. As Parliament did sit for a long time, the speaker couldn’t be bothered calming the MPs down and the PM laid it on the table.
I don’t like Advani’s politics but it is interesting to see how there is no empathy at all for someone who lost everything during Partition. Meanwhile there is no shortage of progressive tears to be found at SM for the po’ stateless Palestinians.
Though I don’t disagree with what PM Singh said. Whatever the roots of Advani’s monomania it is a destructive obsession.
Two years ago, His Majesty, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was the Chief Guest at our Republic Day. More recently, we have played host to the President of Iran, President of Syria, the King of Jordan, the Emir of Qatar and the Emir of Kuwait.
So many lines of the speech was great – but wow, about the above statement, when I think about the treatment of INdian bluecollar workers in saudi – I guess that’s politics.
Here’s the official link for the speech: http://www.pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=695
hey louie. could you please explain that comment. despite their respective political leanings, i generally have high regard for indian politicians, since a lot of them seem to have risen from penury and done well in spite of odds that woulda felled most of us. so i am very curious abotu mr. advani’s background. pray tell. i had heard of PM singh’s birth and early childhood in pakistan – so it would be interesting to draw parallels.
16 · khoofia said
They both are Ex. Pakistani.
Their attempt to break the government was a nakedly cynical, opportunistic play for power; luckily, it failedTheir attempt to break the government was a nakedly cynical, opportunistic play for power; luckily, it failed
Luckily maybe for you sitting in vilayat. In India, every soul is crying for this ruling government to crash. Most people are not too bothered by the packaging and saleability of our PMs and Super PMs to Goras, but about rising prices and lack of development. Sorry to dissapoint you but this epiphany over this league of criminals retaining power is to be short lived.
Spot on Dhokla. Indian politics at it nadir. With the recent redraft of 140 constituencies it was obvious that many sitting MPs didn’t want early elections- 140 of them (from various political parties) will face a drastically altered electorate next year- some mayn’t even be able to contest. And wasn’t this really about election alliances? The Left could’ve withdrawn support and the Congress could’ve held a similar farce when the deal was initially opposed (if it really was about “national interest”). But these are “minor” facts. Arguing over silly puns like “Singh is King” is more reassuring than debating the morality of aligning with SP, appeasing Shibu Soren or shaking hands with Pappu Yadav. Now the question- Do you really think Mr Singh will be the Congress’ candidate for PM next time too? And will the nuclear deal be as imp an issue as rising inflation, farmers’ debt or the dismal industrial growth (for Indians in India)? Hint: maybe Kalavati holds the key 🙂
2 · Manmohan Zing! said
“Coming out Singhing” would have been also good.
Luckily maybe for you sitting in vilayat.
It’s funny to hear someone snickering about “you in vilayet” and appeasing “goras” when their IP address clearly shows them to be logging in from a broadband connection in Chicago.
ROFL.. sometimes people just get carried away..
I’m happy that the government won. But I also believe that money was paid to buy the support of many MPs. It’s not even a secret anymore and I don’t think people even care that much. Recently, in Karnataka BJP bought a few MLAs and now Congress and SP bought a few MPs.
I don’t think Congress gained any political capital associated with the deal or the win in the confidence vote. Nuclear deal is not really an electoral issue. Price rise and Internal security are real issues that would affect the elections.
One can be in touch with the happenings in India while sitting in ‘vilayat’. Almost all the channels are available and newspapers have tonnes more on their websites than what they have in print.
23 · brown_dbd said
Perhaps, but one cannot be in touch with what every soul in India cries for, no matter who/where one is.
The allegations are going to be investigated, of course, but my instinct is that it smells like a stunt
(Where can I get a kilo of that instinct?)
From someone who didn’t spend an iota of his adult political life in India…
Adult opinion in India varies on the desirability of the “deal” and the whether the UPA government represents the best political option for India; but it is fairly unanimous that bribes were freely given, on both sides. Except that the ruling coalition has more funds to disburse by the nature of things…
Apologies to people whose mental age is more than fifteen.
Talking of IP addresses seems pretty amusing. Right now I am logging in from London, 3 months back it would’ve been Delhi and 3 months before that Amsterdam and 6 months before that Mumbai and 3 years before that Delhi- so logging in from Chicago or Delhi or London has nothing to do with being totally disconnected with the realities of India- I have met as many ‘vilayati’ Indians in India as abroad. And honestly do people really think BJP and Congress are that different?
Apologies to people whose mental age is more than fifteen.
Why so smug and condescending?
Adult opinion in India varies on the desirability of the “deal” and the whether the UPA government represents the best political option for India;
Thank you, New Jersey.
for hindi illiterates, what is vilayat ?? i can guess it is foreign, but just wanted to confirm.
Shhhh…(rap on the knuckles) Both are South Asians – Singh is Punjabi and Adwani is Sindhi.
Adwani and Singh are immigrants from what is now known as Pakistan – after independence and birth of the two nations.
Dhokla:
I wonder why you say that. I thought people are wary of another election and ensuing instability. My guess is most people would prefer the government to complete its term. I am in vilayat so not that up to date on this.
Rahul Gandhi seems to have hit the high gear in his preparations to occupy the PM’s seat that ‘Doc Saab’ has kept warm for him. The realization that his days are numbered may the source of this new found ‘courage’ for Singh. He is going to be out soon so why not make a little noise before leaving.
Has been described, and incorrectly. He is an excellent puppeteer and orchestrated the dumping of both PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesari. MMS was directly involved in the drama that ended with Kesari being physically thrown out of the party HQ – OK maybe he wasn’t around when hte Congress thugs manhandled Kesari.
Amardeep, while I am not about to teach youcurrent affairs, I must at least correct you on that. The BJP did not attempt to break the government, it is the Left Loons led by 14-Carat and his flunkies. And this threat has been dished out for over 30 months now. It is not only the Left Loons who have threatened to break hte government, it is also the Tamizh Nadu joint family aka the DMK that has threatened to walk out of the alliance on occasion. The last time that happened was when the Union Government proposed to dilute/divest its stake in Neyveli Lignite Corporation in TN. The decision was dropped in a matter of hours following a phone call from Karunanidhi to Sonia, thereon to MMS.
Indian parliamentary procedure does not provide for ratification of treaties. So in this case it is the Left Loons who withdrew support to the UPA precipitating the confidence vote. No opposition – especially the party that leads – worth its salt would support the ruling alliance at a time like this. It’s the way a multi party legislature works. The Opportunistic play for power was actually waged by 14-carat and Mayawati of the BSP who had been assured the PM’s post. The Congress approached many bit players way back in October last year, starting with the Samajwadi Party. Everyone has their own demands. Deve Gowda who is now reduced to scraps in Karnataka made a bold play, and demanded that mining be nationalised! So that he could get back at the Reddy Brothers mining magnates of Bellary who at one time used to grovel at his feet. But then there are bigger interests at play. There is Sterlite/Vedanta Resources, and many others who can deliver much moreto the Congress, so Deve Gowda got nothing. To get Mayawati on its side in 2004, MMS and Sonia eased the prosecutorial pressure on Mayawati’s many corrupt deals, while ratcheting up the pressure on Mulayam. Now with Mulayam on board, it is hte other way round – that’s the price Mulayam asked for and got. Also Lalloo and Mulayam to two Yadav biggies have come back together. Were they ever apart? This is the 2nd time Lalloo and Mulayam have collaborated after they came together to speak up for Baba Ramdev (originally a Yadav now a sanyasi) when 14-Carat’s wife embarked on that Quixotic adventure (no doubt inspired by some tract dished out by Meera Nanda.
So if you are handing out tokens for cynicism, you will need tonnes of them.
BTW the speech was never delivered.
Much as I hate the Congress, I am glad that we have been spared another Third Front farce like the Gowda-Gujral disasters. If the UPA had fallen, the BJP would not have formed the government – and they knew it of course – we could have instead had another dysfunctional mess with 14-Carat pulling the strings and some Third Front hack for PM. Nothing would have moved and things would have sunk even lower. With fossils like D. Raja and AB Bardhan breathing fire, it would have been the good old socialistic days once again. But there is no saying what this UPA will do. The CPI(M) and the SP have both been playing communal politics in mobilising Islamo-extremist-communalist anti-US sentiment to strengthen their vote banks. Just as Lalloo campaigned with an Osama look-alike. The SP has now walked out on that strategy for some time, probably banking on making good by building its Yadav led BC vote bank. The Congress too can be expected to make some deft moves to appease the communal sentiments. We saw how it has kept silent as the Kashmir Valley thugs led by Omar Abdullah, and other crypto-terrorist sympathisers like Mufti and his family have worked to disruot ad shut down the Amarnath Yatra (while $100 million is being spent by the Government for a new Haj center in Delhi. But we will come to that later. Right now there are urgent issues. The disastrous state of the Indian economy, its ramshackle infrastructure needs attention. So let’s hope some good comes out of this after all.
13 · louiecypher said
Hindu Sindhis and Punjabis who lost everything during the partition (like the Palestinians) do not face political and social discrimination in the desh post-Independence (unlike the Mohajirs and the Palestinians). The Palestinians (many of who undeniably support violence and terrorism) have spent their lives in a state of constant siege and vulnerability, whereas Sindhis and Punjabis did not have to face political victimhood in India (at least for any extended period of time). Many received decent compensation in India in the form of property and government jobs. I don’t see how Sindhi and Punjabi suffering (though very large in magnitude) even compares with the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis who have been placed in a much more intractable situation for far longer. Perhaps Kashmiris (both Hindu and Muslim) are better analogues for Palestinian and Israelis.
And although I recognize Mr. Advani’s loss in the events of 1947, mere suffering does not give one a license to monger hate and create conditions for large-scale civil disturbances. Also note that given Mr. Advani’s political leanings, there is reason to believe that he would wholeheartedly endorse the two-nation theory or at least the result it entails. This would mean moving to India in any case and losing the right to citizenship and property in Pakistan at the very least.
25 · corporate serf said
Really? You are saying there is plurality of opinion in India? No way!
13 · louiecypher said
Don’t worry, I am sure the poncy Pomona educated Manmohan loves Musharraf. And surely, you do too.
Amardeep, while I am not about to teach youcurrent affairs, I must at least correct you on that. The BJP did not attempt to break the government, it is the Left Loons led by 14-Carat and his flunkies.
Jyotsana, thanks at least for writing a thoughtful comment. I was getting tired of being criticized by trolls.
I am well aware that it was the Left who precipitated this particular crisis (as you may remember, I have posted on this topic at least twice before).
My point is, after the Left pulled out of the government, I think the BJP made a strategic decision to oppose the deal based on political opportunity, rather than core beliefs (which are — pro-U.S., pro-nuclear power, pro-free trade). Perhaps you are right that any opposition party in a multi-party system would do the same.
I agree in principle that the Congress used Quid pro quo to get the SP on board in particular; the news about renewed prosecution of Mayawati last week was almost too obvious. I was not aware of the Deve Gowda/mining stuff. I knew about Brinda Karat’s accusation of Baba Ramdev (I might even have posted on it back when that first came out), though I didn’t know about the Baba Ramdev / Yadav connection.
Thank you, New Jersey.
Hey Amardeep, you are a great writer and political commentator but like McCain computers ain’t your thing. I am in Pune, India and have never been to Chicago.
jyotsana
“The disastrous state of the Indian economy..”
May I have some of the stuff you guys smoke? There is some reality I need to get away from too.
Let me tell you its not just the common (aka poor) man this govt has managed to embitter. Everyone I talk to is mighty pissed at having to dish out extra for petrol and food. My daily expenses have gone up by Rs 40 (office cafeteria charges + conveyance) not counting my rent lease that has been revised upwards. Daily life is misery and the future looks even more bleak being from the underprivileged caste (Brahmin, just one generation away from a poor village in HP) with private sector reservations and Mayawati’s PMship on the horizon. I have decided not to marry or have children. It would be cruel raising them in what India is become. If my story has stirred your pathos, could you pull strings and arrange a visa for me as a refugee seeking humanitarian asylum?
37 · Dhokla said
Seems like the right choice for humanity. Thank you for being enlightened enough to realize your unfitness and pulling yourself out of the evolutionary race.
37 · Dhokla said
I’m glad you’re doing your bit for population control.
According to this article, the BJP did leak the video to the media (to CNN-IBN at least), but the editor of that channel decided to hand it over to the the Lok Sabha speaker rather than air it
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jul/23cd.htm
35 · Dhokla said
Eh, Dhokla,
That snark was meant for me, after a complaint about smugness and condescension. Aren’t IP addresses wonderful; lets you ignore substantive points entirely.
However, one shd keep things in perspective. One does not expect foreign correspondents to cover complex political issues in a non-half-assed fashion. So it is probably too much expect this from SM, where pretty much all the posters spent their formative years outside India.
41 · corporate serf said
mhmm…
I hope you are not just making a point here, ‘coz this sounds terrible.
For years (well last few years) I have been told by folks at home that I am wasting my time in USA and should move back to India. Although in last few months their enthusiasm has waned a little as situation has become tighter, it is nothing like you describe. I spend 3-4 hours a week on phone with my parents/relatives and run an online forum for our extended family and I do not sense this level of disappointment.
25 · corporate serf said
How is it that you make a statement like that without bothering to substantiate it and still consider yourself to have a mental age of over 15?
At 15 everyone I knew was familiar with what both generalizations and citations were…
Now with Mulayam on board, it is hte other way round – that’s the price Mulayam asked for and got. Also Lalloo and Mulayam to two Yadav biggies have come back together. Were they ever apart? This is the 2nd time Lalloo and Mulayam have collaborated after they came together to speak up for Baba Ramdev (originally a Yadav now a sanyasi) when 14-Carat’s wife embarked on that Quixotic adventure (no doubt inspired by some tract dished out by Meera Nanda.
jyotsana (#30).
Wonderful castists comments about the two Mr. Yadavs. Why all of them are crooks of course, even the one’s who are just ordinary citizens (at least by your analysis). How about the PM before Lallo Prasad and Rabri Devi in Bihar, one Mr. Mishra who was just as corrupt. Oh but never mind him, he is a loveable Brahmin But of course his name is never mentioned for any wrong doings.
Get one thing clear in your head, most politicians are corrupt not just the ones you mention. I will have to say this however, PM Singh is NOT a corrupt politician. He is a true Sikh in the sense that he follows his beliefs and does not believe in bribery.
Prices will be high until power is provided primary via Electricity, which is why the Nuclear deal is needed. Face it transporation by rail is the most efficient means of transport and electric rail is the most efficient by far. This what the deal is all about. India may not see the effects for a while but it is a good deal. Remember everything in today’s world moves by oil. Oil is sold in dollars, rupees are worth less than dollars hence the high cost. Food is grown with fertilizers which again use natural gas, the brother of oil. Its all connected.
Rahul Gandhi would be terrible for India by the way. We don’t need someone like him in the office. Someone like PM Singh, just a little younger. PHd in Economics isn’t too shabby. All this by the way coming from a Hindu.
This is pretty much the fact.
Just a couple of weeks back, a few MLAs from the opposition group Congress and Janata Dal(S) resigned their seats and joined to shore up the wafer thin majority in Karnataka. The same case is repeated at the national level (even though they din’t join the Congress) by MPs of various opposition parties. Typically, whoever rules has the advantage.
I can fully believe that a lot of money has passed hands. Just a couple of years back, Mulayam wanted to bring a censure motion against Bush.. And he organised massive protests against the Bush visit and one of the main reasons why Bush didn’t speak in the parliament.
Amar Singh (a close confidante of Mulayam) visited US recently and returned convinced of the “economic” sense of the deal and the whole drama followed.
🙂
35 · Dhokla said
Can you please not sit in India and comment on the vilayat? I know that your shabby living conditions, love for the “muzzies”, and oppressed state leave you nothing to do but surf the web all day, but why don’t you contribute a nice comment to a rediff article or something?
46 · Ponniyin Selvan said
This is probably true. But I am glad the BJP lost. The alignment of the commies-(marxist!) with the BJP would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic.
[quote] Can you please not sit in India and comment on the vilayat? I know that your shabby living conditions, love for the “muzzies”, and oppressed state leave you nothing to do but surf the web all day, but why don’t you contribute a nice comment to a rediff article or something? [un quote]
Gotta love outsourcing — of blog-comment responses 🙂
Amardeep,
Within the BJP and its circle of supporters there are some lines of difference. The caricature of the BJP and its sibling the RSS being harboring xenophobic, and autarkic tendencies is exaggerated. There may be many members within these two entities who act so, but their influence is negligible. In contrast there aren’t too many pro-US people either who are so beyond being pragmatic. And then we have non-control economic advocates such as Arun Shourie – who is opposed to hte deal, and Subramaniam Swamy (all but part of BJP) who is for the deal. Others such as Brijesh Mishra, (a v. good friend of Kissinger) Jaswant Singh, have been so vague about their POV that it is not possible to put them in either camp. In the BJP friendly press (small though the circle is) notably Ashok Malik and Swapan Dasgupta have come out in favor of greater nuclear engagement with the US. K.Subrahmanyam the long time stategic affairs analyst, who if anything is equally friendly with the Congress and BJP too is in favour of the deal. B.Raman OTOH is critical and would rather that India not antagonise the Islamic states in the MidEast by being moving too close to the US, because it may hurt our energy interests. Those who oppose the deal in these circles, or support it, do it for entirely practical reasons. If anything the BJP would like to negotiate even more favourable terms. In US political terms, the Congress has tried to move to the “right” on collaboration with the US, and here again I would caution against a hasty conclusion that this is a recent trend. Except for a brief early period during which JN rejected economic prescriptions, India has in no way sought to keep an undue distance from the US.
The Left alliance is opposed to the deal for ideological reasons. The CPI(M) being an agent in place to advance Chinese interests, has tried very hard to scuttle the deal. The party’s motives are wrapped in mystery but from its agenda, it seems that it is aiming for some sort of subcontinental communist federation. Of all the parties in India (PDP and National Conference excepted) the CPI(M) is the only one that has never shown any enthusiasm for maintaining India’s territorial integrity. That coincides with the Chinese agenda of constraining India’s growth economically and strategically. The CPI(M) believes it has taken the first step in a long march towards the federation with the installation of China and CPI(M) friendly regime in Nepal. And that was one of the many concessions the CPI(M) wangled out of the UPA – its inaction through the Nepal upheaval. The other concessions include the expansion of Chinese infrastructure businesses in India and delaying the build up of Indian forces in the Northeast. It even managed to get MMS to cancel an official visit to Arunachal Pradesh. So with so much damage already done the CPI(M) decided it was enough for now.
As for the other parties the nuclear deal either way makes no difference to them. The SP made a calculated decision to diss its Muslim base after having pumped them up with anti-US sentiment. Now with the SP in the UPA, Mayawati has grabbed that token! But politicians betting on such flimsy trends are misguided. It is an insult to every Muslim Indian.
The nuclear deal negotiations indicate that there is continuity and a broad degree of agreement over India’s strategic interests across political parties. And very large masses of people can be classified as “right of center” on the issue.