India government woos regional party to stay in power
02 Jul 2008 18:19:07 GMT Source: Reuters
(Updates with government clarification on deal) By Bappa Majumdar NEW DELHI, July 2 (Reuters) - India's government tried to woo a regional party on Wednesday and secure a parliamentary majority amid signs its communist allies would withdraw their support to protest a nuclear deal with the United States. National security adviser M.K. Narayanan met leaders of the Samajwadi Party late on Wednesday to try to persuade it to back the civilian nuclear deal, seen as a landmark accord moving India's trade and diplomatic relations closer to the West. "The prime minister, whether inside the parliament or outside, has to publicly explain the doubts raised by us to the nation," Amar Singh, a senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, said after the meeting. "Until that happens (the SP) can't support the deal." The government later said the deal will not undermine India's right to carry out a nuclear test nor harm its relations with countries like Iran, a major concern of its leftist allies. "There is nothing in the agreement which places an embargo on India's right to carry out a nuclear test if it thinks this is necessary in India's supreme national interest," a statement released from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office said. "India had always followed an independent foreign policy. Under no circumstances, would this position undergo a change, the least of all in the context of the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement." The Left parties had given the Congress-led ruling coalition a parliamentary majority over the past four years. But they say they will withdraw support if the prime minister moved ahead with a deal they believe makes India a Washington pawn. The pact, which gives India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and technology, is potentially worth billions of dollars to U.S. and European nuclear supplier companies and would give India more energy alternatives to drive a booming, trillion-dollar economy. If the Left parties withdraw, the government needs the support of the SP, a socialist party in Uttar Pradesh state with strong Muslim backing, to avoid losing a vote of confidence in parliament and facing an early election later this year. Fearful the fall of the government could give more power to the main opposition -- the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- the SP has hinted it is willing to negotiate with the centre-left Congress. UPBEAT AND SMILING Congress leaders appeared upbeat at a conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. "We do not want to draw the line from our side and close doors," said senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily. "But we are always capable of resolving any crisis and, when such a situation arises, we are not that weak." The SP has 39 seats, compared with 59 for the communist parties, in parliament. The Congress-led ruling coalition needs the support of 44 lawmakers to reach a majority and also hopes to win support from a few smaller parties. The government wants to avoid an early election, worried its chances will be destroyed by inflation at a 13-year-high and signs of an economic slowdown. It would prefer polls on schedule in May 2009, which would give it time to slow the rise in consumer prices which has stoked voter anger against the government. Some analysts say early elections may not be imminent as signs grow of the SP supporting the government. "I think elections could at the earliest be held at the year-end when inflation is down." said Sudha Pai of the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The government faces other problems, including an indefinite strike from Wednesday by millions of truckers to protest rising fuel prices, and violent demonstrations by Muslims and Hindus in Indian Kashmir over a religious land dispute. On Tuesday, Indian shares fell 3.7 percent as a cocktail of high oil prices, inflation and political uncertainty took its toll, with investors worried months of coalition-building and electioneering could lead to weak economic leadership. On Wednesday stocks jumped 5.4 percent on bargain hunting and rises in the European market. (Additional reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee in New Delhi and Sharat Pradhan in Mumbai) (For the latest Reuters news on India see: http://in.reuters.com, for blogs see http://blogs.reuters.com/in)
Muslim supporters of India's main opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), shout slogans during a protest against the central and Kashmir government in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad ...
