The sham marriage between the UPA and the Left is over. And a good thing too. The relationship kept going for four years; neither partner wanted to be the one to walk out first.
DNA COMMENT
The sham marriage between the UPA and the Left is over. And a good thing too. The relationship kept going for four years; neither partner wanted to be the one to walk out first. But no sooner than Manmohan Singh announced that the government would take the next step in the Indo-US nuclear deal by approaching the IAEA, the Left parties announced they would withdraw their support. There will be finger pointing and recriminations, but the net result is clear — the divorce has finally come through and we must welcome it.
For four long years, the left parties, mainly the CPI(M), buoyed by their unprecedented numbers in parliament, made the UPA dance to their every tune. The communists would not join the government but wanted a say in everything, a case of power without responsibility. They stalled the decision to raise petrol prices modestly even while the country’s public sector oil companies bled. As for economic reforms — forget it. But it was the Indo-US nuclear deal, which had taken months of delicate diplomatic negotiations to conclude, that really had them enraged. Prakash Karat and Co just couldn’t stomach the idea of any agreement with the United States; even after their objections were met and all of India’s concerns accommodated, the Left parties would not relent. They did not allow the government to take a single step. The objections that were apparently ideological soon became visceral, almost personal. All along, the Left allies behaved like enemies; the hypocrisy obviously couldn’t last forever.
By standing up to the Left, Singh has shown resolve. Now his government must utilise the months ahead to proceed with all the economic reforms that were kept in abeyance. There are many pressing issues that require urgent attention. With the Left no longer acting like a millstone, there are no excuses left.
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