“It is the festival season. Why are you making the Government fall?? asked Forward Bloc'sDebabrata Biswas emerging out of the ?crucial, decisive, make-or-break? meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee in Delhi recently to discuss the ?contentious? nuclear deal. But, where was the threat to the Congress-led coalition Government at the Centre in the first place, except in the papers i.e newspapers. For every Hitler, they say, there is a Gandhi and out here for every Karat, there are a Buddha and Basu. Conflict between the Kerala and Bengal brand, one may say. Even as the Malayalee honcho used strong terms such as ?non-negotiable? etc, Brand Buddha talked about the importance of nuclear fuel and the Marxists patriarch (Basu) ?stressed? on the need to keep ?communal forces? at bay.
Blowing hot and cold, Russian style?. Nay, Chinese. For that'sthe only ideological motivation for the ideologues at Ajoy Bhavan and AKG Bhavan. Maybe supporting a deal with enemy number one, US of the A, would have offended party bosses in Beijing. Having supported the Chinese invasion in 1962 on ideological grounds, this is the least they could do ? to overtly oppose a deal which seems to have the potential to tilt the power balance in Asia. So, what if the otherwise soft-spoken Prime Minister dares them to withdraw support and ?Madam? slams the opponents of the deal as enemies of the country. Power and pelf are too irresistible for the followers of dialectical materialism and in the 21st century, they do understand that power flows not from the barrel of a gun but nuclear reactors or even an agreement pertaining to it.
Even as the media speculated on the imminent fall of the Government, the Marxists went hammer and tong opposing even India'sparticipation at the Vienna meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency'sBoard of Governors. But our Anil Kakodkar went and talked. There was no pullout but a fresh opposition to an upcoming visit by IAEA Chief Al Bardei. Then Bardei also came and talked of course ?informally?. Then, the Communist with the stiff upper lip (literally) A.B. Bardhan was asked at which ?point? would they actually withdraw support to the Government. ?When the Government begins structured talks?, he spake. Wordplay or horseplay? Facts or farce?
The fact of the matter is that it is not easy to give up so easily such a grip on power at the Centre, which the Leftists have come to exert for the first time in post-independent India'shistory. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and the Communists are stellar examples of this eternal truth. Equally important is their perfect understanding of the ground realities in their fortresses of West Bengal and Kerala. In God'sown country, the Chief Minister, known for shooting off his mouth, and a scheming state Secretary of the party are so friendly that they had to be suspended from the party politburo. Over and above that are ?social services? being rendered by top party mandarins in the state including officials of the party mouthpiece by way of facilitating deals in lieu of lavish bribes. The competition between the two is so much that one protects land mafia when the other turns heat on them.
Back home in West Bengal, Singur and Nandigram specters haunt them no end. The shady deals with Indonesia'sSalim group and the differences between the Chief Minister and his predecessor Jyoti Basu have exposed them before the people of West Bengal. A possible ?Mahajot? of non-Marxist parties could well spell the doom.
Notwithstanding the bravado exhibited by both the UPA chairperson and the Prime Minister, the Congress too knows that any elections at the moment could mean an exile from power much longer than the previous one. The DMK has become an Albatross of sorts around its neck with an unprecedented public outrage against the affidavit filed by the UPA Government and the offensive remarks of the Dravidian leader questioning the very existence of Lord Ram, the nation'sideal and idol. The unparalleled hike in the prices of essential commodities, the demolition and sealing drives in Delhi, the spate of farmer suicides, the ever increasing unemployment rate, the shameless acts of minority appeasement and burgeoning incidents of terrorism. Congress leaders including Karan Singh and M S Bitta have openly come out against many such policies.
The Rahul Gandhi factor drawing a blank in Uttar Pradesh and Mayawati fast emerging as a contender for power at the Centre has also unnerved the Congress. The possibility of the party'sdebacle in several states including Andhra Pradesh, the fate of key allies including Karunanidhi and Lalu Prasad in future elections are factors which are dissuading the Congress from taking any precipitate action.
Both Lalu and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar have made it amply clear that they are against any mid-term poll. Power is too strong a glue and ?communalism? too good an alibi, they understand. Hence, the meetings now are no more over withdrawal of support but evolving a ?face saver? for both the Congress and the Left. Having upped their ante in public domain, they know the process has to be slow. After all, public memory is short.
While Congress has indicated that it would freeze the negotiations for the time being even as it gave a two year extension to key interlocutor Anil Kakodkar, the Left too is now speaking in a different tongue, which only Marxists can comprehend ? doublespeak. They had earlier ?vehemently opposed? the joint military exercises with the US in West Bengal and the visit of US warship Nimitz, what if the Government had gone ahead with it.
So, what happens to the much-hyped deal?. ?The deal is only related to power generation and RJD can never support imperialism?, says jester Lalu, who had only few months back lauded the deal as historic and landmark. While the UPA Government completing its full tenure appears to be a remote possibility, an imminent mid-term poll too does not appear to be on the horizon. Opportunism, they believe is the anti-dote for communalism and imperialism. Who cares for nationalism?
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