DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI casts a cursory glance on the 123 Indo-US nuclear deal and the Left and some other political parties’ as well as Muslims’ response to it, and concludes that as a result of it an anti-imperialism alliance is emerging that is going to stay beyond the oncoming general elections.
As the matters stand, the Left parties have withdrawn support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre. The Samajwadi Party has, in turn, pledged to fill the vacuum – without conditions and India has sent the safeguards agreement to the International Atomic Energy Agency. All is hunky dory on the surface.
Beneath the surface, however, is brewing turmoil, a certain crisis of vision, a certain draught of imagination and absence of common sense.
As responsible citizens of Bharat, the Muslims, who happen to be the principal minority of the plural polity, have also decided to alert the nation about the pits and pitfalls ahead. It shows their ever growing maturity and political consciousness.
As the polls for the 15th Lok Sabha are due by April next or so, Muslims’ motives should not be suspected. Besides Islam, they have no other constituency. They have no exclusive Muslim organisation of political nature. Since Independence, they have been participating in elections, which are conducted on the basis of joint electorate. Therefore, there is no room for cock and bull stories. It is in fact the voice of conscience which has compelled the Muslim thinking sections to show reason to the unreasonable. Hats off to the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind for the inspiring initiative it has taken. It was long overdue.
At the risk of digression, it has to be stated that there is no total cocksureness about the Congress’s success in the Parliament floor test. The effective strength of the 545-member House is 543. The magic number is 272. The strength of the UPA is 226, out of which 153 belong to the Congress, 24 to the RJD, 16 to the DMK, 11 to the NCP, five to the PMK, five to the JMM, four to the LJSP and seven to the rest. The strength of the SP is 39. The Left’s strength was 59 while the strength of the BSP was 17.
For a clearer picture add NDA’s 170. It means 246 solid anti-deal votes. The only way out to get 272 for win is dependence upon the Kerala Congress which has two, National Conference which has two, Mizo National Front which has one and four independents.
NUMBERS GAME
In the numbers game, even one parliamentarian can and will play crucial role. In this list, names of two hardboiled parliamentarians are being cited. Also note that Mr Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal along with three MPs has yet to settle scores with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav who had denied him chief ministerial chair in 1989. The JMM, led by Mr Shibu Soren, who got power in the State but not a berth in the Central Cabinet, has five MPs in the Lok Sabha.
The 14th Lok Sabha which is nearing its end has increased the market value of our so-called people’s representatives. The question involved is controlling the 15th Lok Sabha.
By circulating a draft safeguards agreement with the IAEA much before the trust vote, despite the much-publicised commitment to go to the nuclear watchdog only after proving majority on the floor of the House has only eroded the credentials of the Manmohan Singh-led dispensation. The Opposition has described the decision to go to the IAEA as “midnight deceit” and “shocking betrayal.”
THE TRUTH
The truth is that the Left has committed a tactical if not strategic mistake. The issues clear to aam aadmi were the double-digit inflation and the ever-threatening upward curve of oil price. The Right has already gone to the Left ranks. Mr Sita Ram Yechury did not attend the cavalcade that met the President to hand over the Left withdrawal letter. The patriarch Mr Jyoti Basu rightly said in Kolkata on July 10: “I want our comrades to protest against the deal… But I don’t want them to vote the government out of power as this will help Hindu fundamentalist forces.”
PAX AMERICANA
As far as the Muslim reaction to the deal is concerned, it has a well-known background rooted in Pax Americana. The US is an expansionist, imperialist, chiefly hegemonistic unipolar regime, determined to erase Islam off the surface of the earth. The US is scheming, conspiring and plotting as far as Muslims are concerned. Given to double-talk and double-deal, Washington has many yardsticks. One of them is for Muslims. It speaks of democracy, but does not accept those states which elect Islam as their state policy. It protects evil regimes like Israel and condones its crimes against humanity in and outside the UN. It sells arms to have-nots and tests their efficacy in the wars fought at its prodding. It arrogates to self the right of unilateral strike and regime change. It controls the world through its “satellite states” and “bases.”
It is the exponent of amorality in social life. The line between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” has ceased to be visible over there. Today the legally wedded happen to be in minority in the “Land of the Free”.
These are some of the reasons responsible for the launch of the Anti-Imperialism Alliance in which all the right-minded are welcome, including the socialists and the Ambedkarites, etc. Beyond any shred of doubt, this alliance is going to stay beyond the oncoming elections.