The Hindu : Front Page : Congress hopes differences will be ironed out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007
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Congress hopes differences will be ironed out

Gargi Parsai

Government to take every step to bring all allies on board on nuclear deal

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday expressed confidence that differences with the Left parties on the India-U.S. nuclear agreement would be ironed out within the framework of the mechanism that had been set up.

Even as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-Left panel held its second meeting here on Wednesday, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said: “The interest of the country and the people of India is paramount. Talking to allies does not amount to capitulation. The government will take every step to bring all allies on board.”

To a question on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demand that the operationalisation of the agreement be postponed by six months, she said that all concerns that the Left parties have would be addressed within the committee.

On Mulford remarks

Reacting to the criticism that U.S. Ambassador David Mulford was “dictating terms” to India on the nuclear deal by saying that time was of the essence and India should take the last steps, Ms. Natarajan said the government need not fear remarks made by anyone. “We have our views and our processes. Nobody dictates to the Congress or to the people of India or to the government.”

On the statement made by Shipping and Transport Minister T.R. Baalu on the Sethusamudram project, Ms. Natarajan said it was a matter for the government to answer.

She, however, condemned the attack on the house of the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Bangalore and urged the Karnataka Government to ensure that such incidents did not recur.

Rejects BJP charge

In a sharp reaction to the BJP charge of “a civil war” in the UPA, Ms. Natarajan said the Congress rejected the allegation with contempt. “It is nothing more than an expression of the dysfunctional incoherence of the BJP which is divided and confused on all issues, whether it is the nuke deal or economic reforms or even Hindutva.”

“All the National Democratic Allies have left them and the party is isolated with a leadership crisis. They can’t even make up their mind on whether the leader of the Opposition should become the Prime Minister or not. The issue is becoming even more laughable when it is not even certain how many seats the party can win.”

‘Irreversible decline’

Remarking that the ‘lotus’ was wilting, Ms. Natarajan said the BJP was not just downwardly mobile — it was in an irreversible decline. “The double standards that the BJP has used in the past will not serve them now. Demoralisation and defeat stare them in the face.”

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