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| Afghanistan-Pak-India |
| Indian PM may lose job because of pro-US tilt |
| 2005-10-10 |
| The Left is fast losing patience with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A section of the CPI-M, including party boss Prakash Karat, blames Singh personally for what it calls a marked pro-US tilt in foreign policy. More specifically, it holds him responsible for India's surprise vote at the recent International Atomic Energy Agency meeting, which riled Iran so much that it accused India of betrayal. Opinion in the CPI-M against the PM has hardened to such an extent that one cannot rule out their seeking his removal in the near future. The Left is veering round to the view that if Singh persists going down the pro-West road, they will have to demand his replacement by a Congress leader with known leftist or socialist credentials. Of course, the Communists have no intention, at least as for now, of withdrawing support to the UPA government. With 60 of their members in the Lok Sabha, the UPA arrangement cannot survive for a day without their support. They can always insist on replacing Singh as the minimal price for their support though. It would then be for the Congress leadership to decide whether it wants to continue with the UPA arrangement or go in for an early general election. On his part, the PM has shown no inclination of succumbing to Left pressure on Iran, convinced the course adopted by India was correct. His reported decision to stick to that stand at the IAEA board meeting in November hasn't exactly helped either. |
| Posted by:john |
| #6 Before the topic is closed... They're both close to Sonia Gandhi. They routinely ignore the PM (who has no political base of his own). How much is the influence of the PM role? This is bad... re: FM Natwar -- THANK GOSH The Petroleum minister is actively seeking to sabotage US ties. He is quite dangerous. He will try to get rid of the PM. Get him out of the way first? The main opposition party, the BJP has several pro-US figures so an election would not derail US ties (unless the communists manage to gather enough allies to form a governement of their own). Here's hoping the commies don't... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-10-10 23:35 |
| #5 They're both close to Sonia Gandhi. They routinely ignore the PM (who has no political base of his own). The FM Natwar is senile though. He is stuck in the 1970s and refers to the "Soviet Union" often. Manmohan Singh sent him to Africa and China to express third world solidarity (and get him out of the way) He did not know about the IAEA vote until too late. The Petroleum minister is actively seeking to sabotage US ties. He is quite dangerous. He will try to get rid of the PM. The defence minister is another story. He has his own support base and is close to the Nehru-Gandhi family. The anti-US elements can't touch him. The main opposition party, the BJP has several pro-US figures so an election would not derail US ties (unless the communists manage to gather enough allies to form a governement of their own). |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-10 21:37 |
| #4 I assume they succeeded... (re: CPI vs. Japan) Defence Minister and Finance Minister -- GOOD. So, how crucial are the petro minister and the FM? Damn, don't tell me the commies have political headway here... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-10-10 21:19 |
| #3 The defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Finance Minister Chindabaram are also pro-US (both Chindabaram and Singh were educated at Harvard). Strongly anti-US is the petroleum minister Mani Shankay Ayer. The Foreign Minister Natwar Singh is a senile leftist full of third world solidarity. He was educated at Peking University and was reported to have raised money for chinese interests during the 1962 Indo-China war. The communist party boss Karat gets his orders straight from Beijing. During the recent China-Japan problems he visited his masters in Beijing and returned to India to forment trouble. The Japanese had indicated intention to increase investment in India and decrease their dangerous reliance on Chinese manufacturing. The CPI formented strikes and walkouts at Japanese MNC owned plants in order to stop the Japanese investments. |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-10 20:53 |
| #2 Wait, so PM Singh is the man behind our strategic alliance with India? We have GOT to help him stay in power, somehow. This man seems to be the linchpin, and if India falls to the lefties... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-10-10 20:13 |
| #1 The cost of Principles. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2005-10-10 19:53 |