Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seeking a trust vote in the Lok Sabha tomorrow with the Government on a razor's edge with hopes resting on independents and undecided MPs.
"That this House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers" will be the one-line motion the Prime Minister will move at the start of the session tomorrow. Voting is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
The Prime Minister will move the motion seeking confidence of the House in his Council of Ministers for the first time since the Congress-led coalition came to power four years ago.
Congress-led UPA and its new ally SP and its detractors including BJP-led NDA, UNPA, BSP and the Left parties are using every trick in the trade to muster numbers for and against the confidence motion.
The numbers game is a dicey affair as some small parties and independents could spoil the party for either side.
The strength of rival sides showed that the Government has to work hard to reach the magic figure of 271, the opposition too has to walk the extra mile to topple the Government.
Lok Sabha has an effective strength of 541 as there are two vacancies besides a member doesn't have voting rights while the Speaker could cast a vote in case of a tie.
The two-day session is the 14th session of the 14th Lok Sabha and has been convened specially for the trust vote.
Prime Minister is seeking the vote in the backdrop of Left withdrawing support to the coalition in the wake of the Government deciding to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal. PTI
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
US watching trust vote with fingers crossed, lips sealed
With the fate of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government hanging in balance over the India-US civil nuclear deal, the Washington establishment is keeping its fingers crossed and lips sealed before Tuesday's trust vote.
The White House and the State Department have refrained from offering a comment lest it be taken as interference in another country's domestic affairs, but officials sure are hoping the Manmohan Singh government would survive.
For, the government's survival alone would give the embattled President George W. Bush one last chance to score a major foreign policy success of his administration though given the US legislative calendar, it still would not be a sure thing.
Also read
à Economic reforms: The unfinished agenda
à India Inc hopes reforms will now get a push
à Bookies bet on Manmohan Singh government to win
à US raises pitch to sell India its missile defence system
Absorbed as it is in the long US presidential election campaign, the US media had paid little attention to the brewing crisis in New Delhi so far, but the impending trust vote has indeed caught its attention.
"Even in the cacophony of Indian politics, there is one thing that everyone seems to agree on: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has absolute faith in his country's controversial civilian nuclear deal with the US," noted influential Time newsmagazine in a piece titled "Nuclear Brinksmanship".
So unshakable is his commitment to the agreement that Manmohan Singh has bet his political future on it, the weekly said.
"On July 22, Singh will find out whether his gamble has paid off - or if it has cost him his four-year-old administration.
"If they are to keep their jobs, Singh and other Congress party members have to convince voters, as well as lawmakers who are sitting on the fence, that the leadership hasn't sold out and turned India into a US pawn," it said referring to the Leftist parties' criticism of the deal.
Expecting the vote to be close, Time said: "With about a dozen lawmakers undecided, the prime minister can probably swing enough votes by making a few compromises. One compromise he will almost certainly not make: backing down on his deal with the US."
The White House and the State Department have refrained from offering a comment lest it be taken as interference in another country's domestic affairs, but officials sure are hoping the Manmohan Singh government would survive.
For, the government's survival alone would give the embattled President George W. Bush one last chance to score a major foreign policy success of his administration though given the US legislative calendar, it still would not be a sure thing.
Also read
à Economic reforms: The unfinished agenda
à India Inc hopes reforms will now get a push
à Bookies bet on Manmohan Singh government to win
à US raises pitch to sell India its missile defence system
Absorbed as it is in the long US presidential election campaign, the US media had paid little attention to the brewing crisis in New Delhi so far, but the impending trust vote has indeed caught its attention.
"Even in the cacophony of Indian politics, there is one thing that everyone seems to agree on: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has absolute faith in his country's controversial civilian nuclear deal with the US," noted influential Time newsmagazine in a piece titled "Nuclear Brinksmanship".
So unshakable is his commitment to the agreement that Manmohan Singh has bet his political future on it, the weekly said.
"On July 22, Singh will find out whether his gamble has paid off - or if it has cost him his four-year-old administration.
"If they are to keep their jobs, Singh and other Congress party members have to convince voters, as well as lawmakers who are sitting on the fence, that the leadership hasn't sold out and turned India into a US pawn," it said referring to the Leftist parties' criticism of the deal.
Expecting the vote to be close, Time said: "With about a dozen lawmakers undecided, the prime minister can probably swing enough votes by making a few compromises. One compromise he will almost certainly not make: backing down on his deal with the US."
Suspended Gujarat BJP MP hints at voting for UPA
Rebel BJP MP Somabhai Patel on Sunday indicated that he may vote in favour of the UPA during the confidence motion in Lok Sabha, claiming that he was not bound by a whip as he remains suspended from the party.
"I am free to take my own decision," the MP from Surendranagar in Gujarat told PTI on the phone. He said he would announce his decision before the session begins.
Patel, a strong critic of the style of functioning of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, said he was not bound by a whip as he has been suspended from the party.
Accusing senior party leader L K Advani of joining hands with the Communists to "fulfil his dream of becoming the Prime Minister," Patel said "Advani should have waited for six more months for the next Lok Sabha polls".
He claimed that there is no danger to UPA government and that it will win July 22 trust vote.
When it was pointed out that BJP has revoked the suspension of Vallabh Kathiriya, party MP from Rajkot, he replied "I am not Kathiriya".
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a close ally of UPA, is in touch with him, Patel said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I am free to take my own decision," the MP from Surendranagar in Gujarat told PTI on the phone. He said he would announce his decision before the session begins.
Patel, a strong critic of the style of functioning of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, said he was not bound by a whip as he has been suspended from the party.
Accusing senior party leader L K Advani of joining hands with the Communists to "fulfil his dream of becoming the Prime Minister," Patel said "Advani should have waited for six more months for the next Lok Sabha polls".
He claimed that there is no danger to UPA government and that it will win July 22 trust vote.
When it was pointed out that BJP has revoked the suspension of Vallabh Kathiriya, party MP from Rajkot, he replied "I am not Kathiriya".
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a close ally of UPA, is in touch with him, Patel said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, July 19, 2008
South Africa celebrates Mandela on his 90th
Some came in exquisitely beaded traditional skins, others wore T-shirts emblazoned with his name, and Nelson Mandela welcomed all to the festive tent outside his home Saturday for the formal celebration of the anti-apartheid icon's 90th birthday.
Hundreds of guests stood and cheered and a Xhosa choir sang "Here is our hope!" at the entrance of Mandela — walking in with his successor as South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma. Mandela, wearing an intricately patterned shirt in shades of brown, stopped to personally greet a few of the 500 honored guests as he made his way to the head table.
Zuma called the gathering a celebration of "a life and legacy of a father, grandfather, comrade, warrior, soldier, nation builder and statesman." Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda caught the festive mood with a tuneful solo of "Happy Birthday" followed by a teasing verse:
"How old are you? State secret!" Then the 84-year-old Kaunda jogged over to Mandela to shake his hand.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner icon had celebrated privately with his family in his home village in the country's rural southeast on Friday, the day he turned 90. Saturday was a grand occasion at his homestead in Qunu, 600 miles south of Johannesburg where as a boy he herded cattle in the hills.
The party tent was decorated with the blue and orange colors of Mandela's Xhosa tribe and with his clan's crest — a bee flanked by tree branches, symbolizing industry, community and strength.
George Bizos was among the fellow veterans of the struggle to transform South Africa from a white supremacist pariah nation into a multiracial democracy who came to the party Saturday. He identified Mandela's optimism as his most "sterling quality.
"He always believed that there would be freedom around the corner," said Bizos, a lawyer who defended Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders during the era of white rule.
Tributes from Mbeki and others and performances by choirs and dancers were planned under the tent. As the party started, herd boys beat drums outside, while an orchestra played inside.
"Clearly, today is a very special day for all of us in South Africa and around the world," said Mac Maharaj, who served time with Mandela on Robben Island, and then served in Mandela's Cabinet.
Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid. He was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule, then was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.
He completed his term in 1999 and did not run again, but has continued to take a leading role in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. Age has slowed him in recent years, but many still remain in awe of his stamina. Just last month he was the honored guest for a huge charity concert in London's Hyde Park.
"For a man of 90, he's in very good shape," one of his doctors, Peter Friedland, said at the party Saturday.
He looked and sounded vigorous Friday when he gave a brief interview to a small group of reporters from The Associated Press and other media, his first such exchange in several years. He was expected to address the party guests later Saturday.
During Friday's interview, he expressed deep concern at the poverty that still grips wide swaths of South Africa. The economy has grown steadily in recent years, but the benefits have yet to trickle to the poorest. Most blacks were stripped of resources and given inferior education under apartheid, leaving them unprepared to enjoy development now.
Mandela's message was simple — the wealthy must do more.
"There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate, who have not been able to conquer poverty," Mandela said Friday.
Friday was also the 10th anniversary of his marriage to his third wife, Graca Machel.
Flowers were arranged in vases of tin, a traditional material for 10th anniversary gifts, at the head table Saturday. His children and grandchildren had put together an album of family photographs and testimonials as a gift, bound in aluminum, another 10th anniversary material.
Hundreds of guests stood and cheered and a Xhosa choir sang "Here is our hope!" at the entrance of Mandela — walking in with his successor as South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma. Mandela, wearing an intricately patterned shirt in shades of brown, stopped to personally greet a few of the 500 honored guests as he made his way to the head table.
Zuma called the gathering a celebration of "a life and legacy of a father, grandfather, comrade, warrior, soldier, nation builder and statesman." Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda caught the festive mood with a tuneful solo of "Happy Birthday" followed by a teasing verse:
"How old are you? State secret!" Then the 84-year-old Kaunda jogged over to Mandela to shake his hand.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner icon had celebrated privately with his family in his home village in the country's rural southeast on Friday, the day he turned 90. Saturday was a grand occasion at his homestead in Qunu, 600 miles south of Johannesburg where as a boy he herded cattle in the hills.
The party tent was decorated with the blue and orange colors of Mandela's Xhosa tribe and with his clan's crest — a bee flanked by tree branches, symbolizing industry, community and strength.
George Bizos was among the fellow veterans of the struggle to transform South Africa from a white supremacist pariah nation into a multiracial democracy who came to the party Saturday. He identified Mandela's optimism as his most "sterling quality.
"He always believed that there would be freedom around the corner," said Bizos, a lawyer who defended Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders during the era of white rule.
Tributes from Mbeki and others and performances by choirs and dancers were planned under the tent. As the party started, herd boys beat drums outside, while an orchestra played inside.
"Clearly, today is a very special day for all of us in South Africa and around the world," said Mac Maharaj, who served time with Mandela on Robben Island, and then served in Mandela's Cabinet.
Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid. He was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule, then was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.
He completed his term in 1999 and did not run again, but has continued to take a leading role in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. Age has slowed him in recent years, but many still remain in awe of his stamina. Just last month he was the honored guest for a huge charity concert in London's Hyde Park.
"For a man of 90, he's in very good shape," one of his doctors, Peter Friedland, said at the party Saturday.
He looked and sounded vigorous Friday when he gave a brief interview to a small group of reporters from The Associated Press and other media, his first such exchange in several years. He was expected to address the party guests later Saturday.
During Friday's interview, he expressed deep concern at the poverty that still grips wide swaths of South Africa. The economy has grown steadily in recent years, but the benefits have yet to trickle to the poorest. Most blacks were stripped of resources and given inferior education under apartheid, leaving them unprepared to enjoy development now.
Mandela's message was simple — the wealthy must do more.
"There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate, who have not been able to conquer poverty," Mandela said Friday.
Friday was also the 10th anniversary of his marriage to his third wife, Graca Machel.
Flowers were arranged in vases of tin, a traditional material for 10th anniversary gifts, at the head table Saturday. His children and grandchildren had put together an album of family photographs and testimonials as a gift, bound in aluminum, another 10th anniversary material.
Obama visits Afghanistan on international tour
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama met US troops in Afghanistan Saturday during a visit to assess efforts against extremist militants at the start of a major international tour, officials said.
US military commanders at the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, briefed Obama and other senators on the international effort against Taliban and other Islamic extremists, the US-led coalition said.
The delegation later flew to a base in eastern Afghanistan, closer to the border with Pakistan, where they met more of the 36,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Obama was due to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, the Afghan government said.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told reporters before leaving the United States that he was looking forward during his trip, which will also take him to Iraq, to seeing the situation on the ground.
"I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of, you know, what ... their biggest concerns are. And I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."
The Illinois senator said in the days building up to the tour that Afghanistan needs more help as it battles the Taliban-led insurgency.
If he wins the November elections, he has said he would commit at least two more combat brigades, up to 10,000 men, to Afghanistan while downscaling the size of the force in Iraq.
"We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more non-military assistance to accomplish the mission there," Obama said in The New York Times on Monday.
"Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been."
In a major foreign policy address on Tuesday, Obama reiterated his promise to get most US combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months, and to focus on Al-Qaeda havens in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won't," he said.
In a radio address Saturday to coincide with the visit, his Republican rival John McCain criticised Obama for announcing his strategy for Afghanistan and Iraq before his fact-finding tour.
"Apparently, he's confident enough that he won't find any facts that might change his opinion or alter his strategy -- remarkable," McCain said.
An extremist insurgency was launched in Afghanistan after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001 in an invasion led by the United States.
The hardliners were attacked after they refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders for the 9/11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people in Washington and New York.
The number of international troops in Afghanistan has since risen to nearly 70,000 but the unrest has grown too, with some of the bloodiest incidents in recent months.
In one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops since they deployed here in 2001, nine US soldiers were killed July 13 when about 200 insurgents stormed a base at a remote outpost in the northeast. Another 15 soldiers were wounded.
A week earlier, Kabul was struck by its deadliest suicide attack when a car bomb blew up outside the Indian embassy. Around 60 people were killed including two senior Indian diplomats.
The spike in violence has led Afghanistan to accuse elements in Pakistan, another US ally, of supporting the rebels, further straining an already tense relationship between the Muslim neighbours.
In new violence, a Canadian soldier was killed in a bomb blast in the southern province of Kandahar, the Canadian military said.
Four Afghan police officers were killed in a similar blast elsewhere that was claimed by the Taliban.
US military commanders at the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, briefed Obama and other senators on the international effort against Taliban and other Islamic extremists, the US-led coalition said.
The delegation later flew to a base in eastern Afghanistan, closer to the border with Pakistan, where they met more of the 36,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Obama was due to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, the Afghan government said.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told reporters before leaving the United States that he was looking forward during his trip, which will also take him to Iraq, to seeing the situation on the ground.
"I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of, you know, what ... their biggest concerns are. And I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."
The Illinois senator said in the days building up to the tour that Afghanistan needs more help as it battles the Taliban-led insurgency.
If he wins the November elections, he has said he would commit at least two more combat brigades, up to 10,000 men, to Afghanistan while downscaling the size of the force in Iraq.
"We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more non-military assistance to accomplish the mission there," Obama said in The New York Times on Monday.
"Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been."
In a major foreign policy address on Tuesday, Obama reiterated his promise to get most US combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months, and to focus on Al-Qaeda havens in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won't," he said.
In a radio address Saturday to coincide with the visit, his Republican rival John McCain criticised Obama for announcing his strategy for Afghanistan and Iraq before his fact-finding tour.
"Apparently, he's confident enough that he won't find any facts that might change his opinion or alter his strategy -- remarkable," McCain said.
An extremist insurgency was launched in Afghanistan after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001 in an invasion led by the United States.
The hardliners were attacked after they refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders for the 9/11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people in Washington and New York.
The number of international troops in Afghanistan has since risen to nearly 70,000 but the unrest has grown too, with some of the bloodiest incidents in recent months.
In one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops since they deployed here in 2001, nine US soldiers were killed July 13 when about 200 insurgents stormed a base at a remote outpost in the northeast. Another 15 soldiers were wounded.
A week earlier, Kabul was struck by its deadliest suicide attack when a car bomb blew up outside the Indian embassy. Around 60 people were killed including two senior Indian diplomats.
The spike in violence has led Afghanistan to accuse elements in Pakistan, another US ally, of supporting the rebels, further straining an already tense relationship between the Muslim neighbours.
In new violence, a Canadian soldier was killed in a bomb blast in the southern province of Kandahar, the Canadian military said.
Four Afghan police officers were killed in a similar blast elsewhere that was claimed by the Taliban.
No question of PM resigning before trust vote: Cong
The Congress today said there was no question of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resigning before the July 22 trust vote as he will comfortably win the trial of strength.
"The question does not arise as he will win the trust vote comfortably," Congress media department chief M Veeraapa Moily said on being asked by reporters whether PM would step down before Tuesday's vote in Lok Sabha.
Asked about Congress President Sonia Gandhi meeting with party MPs, Moily said "the MPs are meeting her out of courtesy and they are politically mature enough to take the message of benefits of nuclear deal to the people." Moily said the Congress has information that some MPs from Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and BJP would abstain but declined to name them.
In reply to a question whether the JMM MPs are on board, Moily said "as of now they are with the UPA." On getting the support of Ajit Singh-led RLD, the senior Congress leader said, "Ajit Singh will take his own decision." PTI
"The question does not arise as he will win the trust vote comfortably," Congress media department chief M Veeraapa Moily said on being asked by reporters whether PM would step down before Tuesday's vote in Lok Sabha.
Asked about Congress President Sonia Gandhi meeting with party MPs, Moily said "the MPs are meeting her out of courtesy and they are politically mature enough to take the message of benefits of nuclear deal to the people." Moily said the Congress has information that some MPs from Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and BJP would abstain but declined to name them.
In reply to a question whether the JMM MPs are on board, Moily said "as of now they are with the UPA." On getting the support of Ajit Singh-led RLD, the senior Congress leader said, "Ajit Singh will take his own decision." PTI
CPM's central committee meeting holds key
The CPI(M)'s Central Committee would begin a crucial meet in New Delhi on Saturday to chart out its role in the prevailing political turmoil, even as it left out Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the whip to vote against the Government during the confidence motion on July 22.
The exclusion of Chatterjee is significant as the CPI (M) has so far maintained that he should toe the party line to vote against the government.
A day ahead of the two-day meet of the decision-making body, a three-line whip was issued to 41 CPI(M) MPs asking them to reach the national capital on July 20 and be present in Lok Sabha on the next two days besides voting against the government. Besides Chatterjee, Left-backed independent from Kerala, Sebastian Paul, has also been left out.
CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat while maintaining that it was for the Speaker to take a decision on resigning his post, contended that a person holding this high office does not cease to have political affiliations.
"After someone ceases to be a Speaker, they resume political activities," he said in a recent interview.
"We don't follow the British precedent in India...we have a former Speaker as the Home Minister and another former Speaker is the leader of one of the opposition groups in Lok Sabha. So all this talk of Speaker sans party and politics is hypocritical," he said.
The Central Committee would debate the decisions taken by the Politburo in the recent past, including the talks the top CPI(M) leadership has been holding with several political leaders like UP Chief Minister Mayawati and others.
The exclusion of Chatterjee is significant as the CPI (M) has so far maintained that he should toe the party line to vote against the government.
A day ahead of the two-day meet of the decision-making body, a three-line whip was issued to 41 CPI(M) MPs asking them to reach the national capital on July 20 and be present in Lok Sabha on the next two days besides voting against the government. Besides Chatterjee, Left-backed independent from Kerala, Sebastian Paul, has also been left out.
CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat while maintaining that it was for the Speaker to take a decision on resigning his post, contended that a person holding this high office does not cease to have political affiliations.
"After someone ceases to be a Speaker, they resume political activities," he said in a recent interview.
"We don't follow the British precedent in India...we have a former Speaker as the Home Minister and another former Speaker is the leader of one of the opposition groups in Lok Sabha. So all this talk of Speaker sans party and politics is hypocritical," he said.
The Central Committee would debate the decisions taken by the Politburo in the recent past, including the talks the top CPI(M) leadership has been holding with several political leaders like UP Chief Minister Mayawati and others.
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