Thursday, July 10, 2008

Imflaing passions

The Nuclear Deal has been inflaming political passions both left and right. It has allowed opportunism to make its long-awaited comeback to national politics. But, what is the nuclear deal about and where do you stand on it? I'm no expert on the issue, but I think that the Nuke Deal is a tacit admission by the rest of the world of India's nuclear armed status. What I do know is that India is suffering from a serious shortage of electricity, most of Gurgaon and Noida's gleaming offices are being run on Diesel generators. While politicians go around promising 'Free Power', consumers treat access to electricity as a right, and many choose not to pay for it. Large power projects are stuck in either a bureaucratic morass or condemned until natural gas starts getting pumped out of the ground, something that seems unlikely. Nuclear power is part of the answer, but I doubt even with the deal in place, India isn't about to become a France overnight.
But are we giving up our sovereign rights by allowing 'outsiders' to check on our nuclear plants? At a level, I think we are, but then again the world is still paranoid that India and Pakistan are likely to blow each other to kingdom come, and India wants to show that that it won't. I still have some misgivings about this and I believe that the text of the IAEA draft should be ratified or at least discussed in Parliament. We are the world's largest democracy after all. But I have a bad feeling that with all the rabid talk by characters across the political spectrum, if Parliament is convened soon, it will be a session worth watching for the fights if nothing else, because I have a feeling that it won't stop at verbal abuse.
Then again, what if Behenji pulls off an SP split? So much confusion - let's just watch Rakhi Sawant's chat show - I think the Congress is missing a trick here - they should make Manmohan appear as a guest on the show to defend the deal. Trust me, it'll work better than an address to the nation that will put people to sleep.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Virtually all news websites have a link to the full text. But all of those links seem to be dead.

Anonymous said...

When you say "let's just watch Rakhi Sawant's chat show - I think the Congress is missing a trick here - they should make Manmohan appear as a guest on the show to defend the deal. Trust me, it'll work better than an address to the nation that will put people to sleep."
AAAh.That would be a great idea...

Anonymous said...

Hey K,
N-deal aside, is it true that certain Mr K, everybody's fave interviewer, is joining an 'X-rated' organisation? ; P

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fze2J2Ve9is

Irish TV's interview with Bush.