UPA Govt. wins trust vote by huge margin, to go ahead with India-US nuclear deal

With the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government needing 271 votes to win in a Parliament with 541 effective seats, it romped home with 275 votes in favor of the nuclear deal while the opposition, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), could manage only 256 votes. Ten votes were in abstention.

Seven BJP MPs, two from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and one from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) voted for the government motion.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary session was also adjourned for some time on Tuesday after members of opposition parties accused the coalition government of offering bribes to them to vote in favor of the deal or abstain from voting.

However, the government has brushed off the allegations of "horse trading" saying those who are making the allegations should give the proof.

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament) has pledged to look into the bribery charges.

Smarting from the defeat, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani said it was a mere numerical victory for the government and not a moral victory as the whole nation was against the nuclear deal and the government won the trust vote by "horse trading." "There is something like numerical legitimacy and moral legitimacy. The government scored the numerical victory but lost on moral grounds," Advani said.

The Left parties said it was a "black day" for India's democracy as the government won "because of intense horse trading."

Earlier, Advani held Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responsible for the spiraling inflation rate and economic slowdown in the nation as well as for the current political crisis.

"We are not against nuclear energy. We are not against a very close relationship with America. But we would never like India to become party to an agreement which is unequal," Advani told the Parliament.

"This deal makes us a subservient partner. It makes India a junior partner," he argued, saying the BJP wanted the deal to be renegotiated but not scrapped.

"If the government was so serious about the (nuclear) deal, why is it not mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme or even the Congress manifesto," Advani said.

"It is a kind of an agreement between two individuals and one happens to be the Prime Minister," the BJP leader said.

Advani also launched a personal attack on the prime minister, saying he would not dare take a single step without the permission or approval of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "I have seen instable governments but I have never seen a government so paralyzed," he said.

However, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee backed the nuclear deal, saying it would "open the door and end 30 years isolation of nuclear technology."

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram also said the nuclear deal would help India emerge as an economic superpower. "This government under Dr. Manmohan Singh's leadership is charting out a new path which will end India's nuclear isolation, which will pave the way for India becoming an economic power, an economic superpower," he said.

Taking a dig at the Left parties, Chidambaram added, "There are some people in India who do not want us to catch up with China. There are some people in this country who do not want us to get ahead of China."

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad also lauded the prime minister, saying, "It's a very courageous step to take a trust vote on one's own accord."

Taking a dig at Left parties, Prasad said, "You wear Made-in-USA watch, your children study in the US, but you have US phobia."

Prime Minister Singh also took a dig at Advani, recalling how the BJP leader had made at least three attempts to topple the government but failed. "Advani has chosen to use all manner of abusive objectives to describe my performance. He has described me as the weakest Prime Minister, a nikamma PM, and of having devalued the office of PM. To fulfill his ambitions, he has made at least three attempts to topple our government. But on each occasion his astrologers have misled him. This pattern, I am sure, will be repeated today. At his ripe old age, I do not expect (him) to change his thinking. But for his sake and India's sake, I urge him at least to change his astrologers so that he gets more accurate predictions of things to come," Singh said.

Singh also accused Advani of "sleeping" when "the terrorists were knocking at the doors of our Parliament" and when "Gujarat was burning leading to the loss of thousands of innocent lives," of providing "the inspiration for the destruction of the Babri Masjid with all the terrible consequences that followed," and of being disowned by "his own party and his mentors in the RSS."

Singh also struck back at the Left parties who withdrew support to the government over political differences relating to the nuclear deal.

"All I had asked our Left colleagues was: please allow us to go through the negotiating process and I will come to Parliament before operationalizing the nuclear agreement. This simple courtesy which is essential for orderly functioning of any Government worth the name, particularly with regard to the conduct of foreign policy, they were not willing to grant me. They wanted a veto over every single step of negotiations which is not acceptable. They wanted me to behave as their bonded slave," Singh said.

The prime minister said the time has come for India to emerge as a major global power and "despite their opportunistic opposition to the nuclear agreement, history will compliment the UPA Government for having taken another giant step forward to lead India to become a major power center of the evolving global economy."

The nuclear deal, Singh said was not about losing one's sovereignty but "all about widening our development options, promoting energy security in a manner which will not hurt our precious environment and which will not contribute to pollution and global warming."

"The nuclear agreement that we wish to negotiate will end India's nuclear isolation, nuclear apartheid and enable us to take advantage of international trade in nuclear materials, technologies and equipment. It will open up new opportunities for trade in dual use high technologies opening up new pathways to accelerate industrialization of our country. Given the excellent quality of our nuclear scientists and technologists, I have reasons to believe that in a reasonably short period of time, India would emerge as an important exporter of nuclear technologies, and equipment for civilian purposes," he said.

The nuclear deal, the prime minister emphasized, would never affect India's strategic autonomy. "The essence of the matter is that the agreements that we negotiate with USA, Russia, France and other nuclear countries will enable us to enter into international trade for civilian use without any interference with our strategic nuclear program. The strategic program will continue to be developed at an autonomous pace determined solely by our own security perceptions. We have not and we will not accept any outside interference or monitoring or supervision of our strategic program. Our strategic autonomy will never be compromised. We are willing to look at possible amendments to our Atomic Energy Act to reinforce our solemn commitment that our strategic autonomy will never be compromised," Singh said.

"I confirm that there is nothing in these agreements which prevents us from further nuclear tests if warranted by our national security concerns. All that we are committed to is a voluntary moratorium on further testing. Thus the nuclear agreements will not in any way affect our strategic autonomy. The cooperation that the international community is now willing to extend to us for trade in nuclear materials, technologies and equipment for civilian use will be available to us without signing the NPT or the CTBT," he said.

In conclusion, the prime minister said that whatever decisions he had taken had been with "a clear conscience and the best interests of my country and our people at heart."

"The greatness of democracy is that we are all birds of passage! We are here today, gone tomorrow! But in the brief time that the people of India entrust us with this responsibility, it is our duty to be honest and sincere in the discharge of these responsibilities," the prime minister said.

"This is a long and arduous journey. But every step taken in this direction can make a difference. And that is what we have sought to do in the last four years. How far we have succeeded is something I leave to the judgment of the people of India," Singh said.

"The one vision represented by the UPA and our allies seeks to project India as a self-confident and united nation moving forward to gain its rightful place in the comity of nations, making full use of the opportunities offered by a globalized world, operating on the frontiers of modern science and technology and using modern science and technology as important instruments of national economic and social development," he said.

"The opposite vision is of a motley crowd opposed to us who have come together to share the spoils of office to promote their sectional, sectarian and parochial interests," he added.

After the results of the trust vote was declared, a beaming prime minister told reporters, "Parliament of India has spoken today. India is prepared to take its rightful place in the comity of nations."

The immediate priorities of the government were to tackle "the imported inflation caused by steep increase in oil prices," he added.

Hailing the prime minister on his victory, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said, "I believe this nuclear deal is in the interest of the nation. I am proud of the PM."

"We knew all along that we will have a decisive margin," Minister of State for Industries and Congress MP Ashwini Kumar said. "The Indo-US nuclear deal has been endorsed by this vote."

"The politics of Left leaders Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, A.B. Bardhan along with BJP's L.K. Advani have been exposed. Both Lals (Advani and Left parties) are destroyed. Now they have to respond to the nation," Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh said.

"This day, (today) Manmohan Singh government won the trust vote...this is the happiest day in my entire political career," Singh said. Singh's party with 39 members provided the crucial lifeline to the government, which would have otherwise faced difficulties in a trial of strength.

National Congress (NC) president Omar Abdullah, who voted in favor of the motion, took a dig at BSP president Mayawati, who hailed the India-US nuclear deal as anti-Muslim.

"I as a Muslim feel that the deal would help India to achieve a rightful place in the international fora. The enemy of Muslims is not the deal, but hunger, poverty and unemployment," Abdullah said.

Corporate India is also happy with the outcome of the trust vote as industry captains said they are looking forward to the government speeding up the much-needed reform processes in insurance, banking, retail, telecom and civil aviation sectors.

"We expect that in the next three months the major bills pending in Parliament including pension bill and banking reform bill will be pushed through," said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, president of top industry chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), immediately after the results of the trust vote were known.

With the backing of its new allies, the UPA government should push through the disinvestment of PSUs to restore fiscal health, see through the passage of the Insurance and Pension Bills to generate the much-needed resources for infrastructure building, and give a fillip to the private sector engagement in defense activities, FICCI added.

Congratulating the prime minister, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) president Sajjan Jindal described the victory as "a vote to the future of India and pragmatic policy pursued by the UPA government for building strong India."

Echoing similar sentiments, PHD Chamber of Commerce President L.K. Malhotra said the victory would signal stability and continuation, which is good for the economy and the industry as reforms initiated by the government would continue. "It will also signal a stint of reforms which have been debated such as insurance, pension funds and financial reforms," he said.

"We have a majority. The Government will be approaching other members who are not opposed to economic and social reforms. We have to carry forward the reforms process," Chidambaram said after the government won the trust vote in the parliament.

ABOUT THE INDIA-US NUCLEAR DEAL

The nuclear energy agreement process began when Bush and Singh agreed in July 2005 that US companies would sell nuclear technology to India, opening a market for equipment, fuel and reactors from Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric and Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric.

The US Congress in December 2006 passed a legislation allowing the accord to proceed, reversing decades of US policy that barred nuclear exports to India after the South Asian country tested an atomic bomb in 1974 without signing the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

However, the nuclear deal has to clear further measures before becoming operational. India has to sign a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, for allowing international inspections of its civilian nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 45-nation forum dedicated to limiting the spread of atomic weapons, has to also approve the deal to allow atomic commerce. The agreement then needs to be ratified by the US Congress.

India and the US also have to finalize the bilateral 123 Agreement to make the nuclear deal operational.

The duration of the agreement, that will allow US to transfer nuclear technology to India for civilian purpose, is 40 years.

The agreement will allow India and the US to engage in full civil nuclear cooperation activities covering nuclear reactors and aspects of the associated nuclear fuel cycle including technology transfer on an industrial or commercial scale between the governments or authorized persons.

Under the agreement, India can develop strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of its reactors.

Most importantly, the US has agreed to fuel supply for the 14 nuclear reactors even if India conducts a test. It will help India source fuel from "friendly countries," including Russia, France and the UK, and create a fuel reserve so that fuel supplies remain uninterrupted, according to the draft agreement. The US will also aid India's efforts in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to obtain "full access to the international fuel market, including reliable, uninterrupted and continual access to fuel supplies from firms in several nations."

According to the agreement, the US acknowledges India as a state with "advanced nuclear technology" which will assume the "same responsibilities" as countries with advanced nuclear technology.

A final deal will mean US civilian nuclear trade with India will be permitted in exchange for safeguards and UN inspections at India's 14 civilian nuclear plants. Eight military plants will be off-limits.

The deal can open up a whopping $100 billion in opportunities for American businesses, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

The deal is critical for India if it is to achieve 10 percent of its energy supply from nuclear power, as against its current 3 percent. It will also clear the path for India to access the latest dual use of nuclear technology for medicine, weather forecasting, research and defense.

However, from the very beginning, US critics worry the agreement could spark a nuclear arms race in Asia and weaken international efforts to prevent states like Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, in India, critics say it would compromise the future development of the country's nuclear weapons program and give Washington too much influence over Indian foreign policy.