Muslim League caught in N-haze

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was quick to dissociate with politburo member MK Pandhe, who warned the Samajwadi Party of a Muslim backlash against the Indo-US nuclear deal. But the veteran trade unionist had a point. Be it Mulayam, Marxists or the Muslim League, they will find their support base eroded if they back the nuclear agreement with the US.

And the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress, is right now in an unenviable situation. The party, represented in the Union cabinet by minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed, is struggling to make sense with a press release by its late president GM Banatwala.

Banatwala prepared a note on June 25, the day of his death. In the note, unsigned and yet to go to press, he expresses his anguish at the UPA government for ushering in a deal designed by the “imperialist” US. “The Indo-US nuclear deal, as such, is not acceptable to the IUML,” it reads.

The note has become a major embarrassment for IUML leaders including Ahmed. IUML’s Kerala general secretary PK Kunhalikkutty, said the party is yet to discuss the issue in detail.

The IUML’s anxiety is understandable. The Left Democratic Front may strike a chord with Muslim voters if it withdraws support to the government.

The CPI(M) shocked the IUML in 2004 general elections and 2006 assembly polls when it stormed the Muslim heartland of north Kerala. The IUML and Congress know from experience the CPI(M) scores when it mixes Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez in the fight against Uncle Sam. If only Mulayam listened to Pandhe’s street wisdom.
s_don@dnaindia.net