The bizarre and the not-quite-above-board have over the years become routine in Indian politics. But few public issues have exposed the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of its parties as the Indo-US nuclear deal. For the average middle-class Indian, most of whom would have no problems with the deal, the real spectacle has been the political deal-making. As the UPA government goes scouting for petty game in order to survive its last year in office, every passenger in Indian politics has the opportunity to extract his pound of flesh.
The middle-class disdain is very visible. Almost every conversation veers around to the games our netas play. People wonder at the lack of scruples, the blatant hunger for power and greed for influence. The nuclear shenanigan has only added to the cynicism and growing disillusionment with national politics.
The PM’s spin doctors argue he is only seeking India’s place in the world (and his place in history). But many ordinary citizens wonder whether an honourable man like Manmohan has now come to believe that the end justifies the means. And many ordinary people are asking: when did this PM develop a "steely resolve" and become an "independent entity" so committed to safeguarding India’s nuclear interests? His critics recall a speech he made in 1998 in the Rajya Sabha, attacking the Pokhran-II tests held by the then Vajpayee government.
Not that the party of the gods has displayed any generosity of spirit or even intellectual clarity over the N-deal. The BJP has just been bloody-minded and cussed in opposing it when every strategic thinker knows the party would have signed such a deal in a heartbeat if it was on offer during the years when the NDA was in power. The BJP’s pursuit of friendship with the US is well-chronicled; during his tenure as foreign minister Jaswant Singh spent months pursuing a special relationship with the Americans.
That was then: Amar Singh leads a protest against the N-deal--in Parliament, Aug 13, '07
But instead of supporting an India-US embrace, the BJP has virtually stood on its head, done a cartwheel and several somersaults ever since the nuclear deal was placed on the table two years ago. Take the stand of Brajesh Mishra, who was principal secretary to A.B. Vajpayee when he was the PM. He first opposed the deal (largely because he wasn’t consulted) and then opposed Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani when he suggested that the BJP should consider supporting the deal. In fact, Brajesh even got some BJP leaders to attack Advani on this. Something as vital as a strategic relationship with the US was made hostage to petty inner-party rivalries. Then, earlier this year, in a stunning turnaround, Brajesh suddenly became a great advocate of the deal.
By then Advani had lost his nerve and preferred to avoid all controversial stands to ensure his nomination as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate. What is revealing, however, is his remark to journalists that "we would’ve supported the deal, but we were never consulted." Ideally, an opposition leader should have acted on the basis of national interest and not a bruised ego. But then this is the level at which all debates in Indian democracy are now conducted.
The only higher purpose is survival and political expediency. The UPA has not just had to bend before the SP. It will also ultimately have to grovel and cave in to MPs with criminal records, besides the smaller parties who now have the opportunity to make hay while the government quakes. The best case scenario for the Congress is to hope that public disgust with the political circus will soon turn to ennui. After all, there is nothing glorious, dramatic or even particularly interesting about a collapse that drags on and on. One sms joke: the Manmohan government is so inept that it is neither capable of surviving nor collapsing!
Behind all the chaos are the comrades, so indignant and consistent in their opposition to US imperialism. Prakash Karat had an almost messianic zeal when he announced the withdrawal of support to the Manmohan government. After all, the Communists do believe they are the only political formation in touch with genuine people’s issues. Perhaps that is why in the four years of UPA rule, Karat never cared to visit Vidarbha, where farmers committed suicide, or Gujarat, where an assembly election took place and Narendra Modi went from strength to strength. Of course, it is possible that Karat was too disturbed by the national outrage over the Communist conduct in Nandigram. Not to forget that fight against US imperialism.
