Indian parties meet over fate of nuclear deal
INDIA: A coalition of smaller parties in India will hold a crucial
meeting on Thursday to decide whether to support a civilian nuclear deal
with the United States, a move that could help decide the fate of
India's embattled government.
The United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) includes the regional
Samajwadi Party, which the ruling coalition wants to woo amid signs
communist parties that currently back the government in parliament will
withdraw their support to protest the deal.
National security adviser M.K. Narayanan met leaders of the Samajwadi
Party late on Wednesday to try to persuade them to back the deal, seen
as a landmark accord moving India's trade and diplomatic relations
closer to the West.
"Yes, we will discuss the nuclear deal and its implications today,"
SP general secretary Amar Singh told Reuters hours before the meeting
was due to start. The stakes are huge.
If the government fails to secure Samajwadi support and the left
withdraws from supporting the coalition, the government will almost
certainly face early elections this year just as inflation rises to
record levels and the economy shows signs of slowdown.
The ruling coalition already faces other challenges, including an
indefinite strike by truckers across the country to protest rising fuel
prices which threatens to worsen inflation and choke off some supplies
of basic goods.
The pact, which gives India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and
technology, is potentially worth billions of dollars to U.S. and
European nuclear supplier companies and would give India more energy
alternatives to drive its development. The left says it could withdraw
support if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads to a G8 summit in Japan
on July 7, where he will likely meet President George W. Bush - the man
who shook hands with Singh over the accord at the White House in 2005.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), an ally of the ruling coalition
and India's second largest left party, will also hold a a meeting on
Thursday over the deal.
New Delhi, Thursday,Reuters |
