Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Welcome as L.K.
Advani8217;s reworking 8212; in this newspaper on Monday 8212; of the BJP8217;s nuclear policy position is, it is necessary to ask what the party was doing for so long. The question is crucial for predicting whether the course correction suggested by Advani will take hold. Remember that during the months of the BJP8217;s radioactive opposition to the deal there have been statements like that from Yashwant Sinha, who said after India8217;s vote against Iran at the IAEA that this country can8217;t be America8217;s client. V.S. Achuthanandan, forget Prakash Karat, would have been proud of that statement. Whatever had allowed that kind of politics to emerge can8217;t coexist with what Advani is attempting now. Therefore a pre-condition for an effective makeover of the BJP8217;s nuclear deal policy is that everyone is on the same page, a difficult job considering that some BJP leaders have seemed to be on a different planet when talking about the issue. If, a big if, the BJP can communicate the change convincingly and if its parliamentary conduct reflects that, Indian politics will become what it should be on big issues 8212; a bipartisan consensus that allows for some differences.
As for Advani8217;s specific suggestion 8212; that India sanctifies its strategic non-negotiables by putting them in the Atomic Energy Act 8212; it certainly deserves wide debate. When the BJP is asked whether such amendments are necessary and even if they are whether they should be taken up before IAEA and NSG negotiations, the party will know it is being taken seriously again.
