Govt gets opposition pat, ally fire on Iran vote at IAEA

Taking predictable positions, BJP offered qualified support to Congress in Parliament over Iran vote today while supporting parties 8212; C...

Taking predictable positions, BJP offered qualified support to Congress in Parliament over Iran vote today while supporting parties 8212; CPIM, CPI and SP 8212; warned the Government against an adverse fallout if it took an anti-Iran stand at IAEA meeting on March 6.

Intervening in the debate on the PM8217;s statement on the issue in the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said a 8216;8216;wrong impression8217;8217; was sought to be created that some animus had been created between India and Iran over the IAEA. He said Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed had recently met the President of Iran at Tehran to affirm India8217;s commitment to 8216;8216;most friendly8217;8217; relations between the two countries.

He said India had no intention of signing the NPT, but since Iran had done so voluntarily, it had to meet its obligations.

Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who defended the Government8217;s stand in the Rajya Sabha, said he did not think the IAEA vote would spoil the country8217;s relations with Iran because their ties had remained unaffected despite the fact that Tehran had voted against New Delhi at OIC meetings. He said, 8216;8216;India does not want to take an extreme position, but where national interests are concerned, we will take a position 8212; we cannot barter our national interests.8217;8217;

Opening the discussion in the LS, CPI member C K Chandrappan said India had betrayed Iran which 8216;8216;stood by it like a rock.8217;8217; He asked the Government to abstain from a vote at the March 6 meeting. His party colleague Gurudas Dasgupta charged the Government with a dilution of its non-aligned foreign policy.

Ridiculing the Government8217;s contention that it could not favour another nuclear power in India8217;s neighbourhood, Rup Chand Pal of CPIM asked, 8216;8216;Have you spoken a word against Israel?8217;8217; SP leader Mohan Singh accused the US of a 8216;8216;war against Islam8221;.

BJP leader B C Khanduri supported the Iran vote, but felt the Government should have drawn world attention to the role of Pakistan in Iran8217;s nuclear programme.

Story continues below this ad

Initiating the discussion in the RS, Sushma Swaraj called the Iran-IAEA vote a 8216;8216;diplomatic failure8217;8217; even as she drew a fine line between her party8217;s opposition to Iran8217;s nuclear ambitions and India8217;s economic welfare given its dependence on Gulf oil.

But, in what seemed to be part endorsement of the UPA government8217;s line that India ill-affords another nuclear power in its neighbourhood, Swaraj in her rather impasssioned speech said: 8216;8216;We are dead against Iran becoming a nuclear power state, but this objective should not be achieved to serve US interests, which jointly with Iraq is trying to act against Iran.8217;8217;

With its demand for an Iran debate taken care of, CPM8217;s Sitaram Yechury much like the BJP exhorted the government to take an independent line in foreign policy matters.