Karat energy solution: collaborate with China

If few are betting on the successful resolution of the UPA-Left impasse over the nuclear deal 8212; the panel8217;s meeting began today...

If few are betting on the successful resolution of the UPA-Left impasse over the nuclear deal 8212; the panel8217;s meeting began today 8212; you can8217;t blame them.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, in his book to be released next week, couldn8217;t be more clear: the 8220;first step8221; in stopping the Government on the 8220;pro-imperialist path,8221; he says, is the 8220;rejection of the nuclear deal.8221;

Karat8217;s remarks are now in his book where the title gives the story away: 8220;Subordinate Ally, the Nuclear Deal and Indo-US Strategic Relations.8221; LeftWord, Rs 95. It8217;s a compilation of many 8220;re-edited8221; articles of Karat.

On the energy argument of the deal, Karat, in the very first chapter, calls for an 8220;Asian energy security grid8221; in which India needs to 8220;collaborate8221; with China and Russia.

8220;India must get access to diverse sources of energy particularly gas and oil and should promote efforts for an Asian energy security grid. In this it needs to collaborate with China which is the other country with major energy requirements and develop cooperation with

Russia which has emerged as an energy super power,8221; he writes.

Referring to the visit of USS Nimitz to Chennai in July 2007, in the context of the Logistics Framework Agreement, he says: 8220;If this agreement is put in place, the US Navy can bomb Iraq and Iran and then come to Indian ports for rest, recreation and refueling.8221;

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After building up this context Karat concludes 8220;A political strategy needs to be drawn up, which can mobilize all the anti-imperialist and patriotic forces to stop the UPA Government from proceeding on this harmful course. As a first step, this requires the rejection of the nuclear cooperation agreement.8221;

He also recalls UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi8217;s comment in Congress magazine Sandesh where she said it was 8220;indeed sad that some parties have tried to communalize the foreign policy,8221; and says it was 8220;unfortunate8221; that 8220;communal tag8221; is attributed to those who protested on India8217;s vote at IAEA against Iran. Among those doing the attribution, he mentions, is a 8220;section of the pro-American media like The Indian Express.8221;