NEW DELHI, 24 July 2005 — In contrast with the red carpet rolled out for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington, at home he is being targeted for criticism by opposition parties as well as allies of the Congress-led UPA government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and left parties have attacked the Indo-US nuclear deal and the comments made by Manmohan on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline as being fraught with difficulties.
Rather than address questions raised about his US trip through a press conference, Manmohan has decided to make a statement on his visit in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Earlier, he was expected to take some questions from the press at the airport on his return from Washington on Friday night. However, passes issued to the media to cover his arrival at the airport were “canceled or withdrawn.”
Clarifying the change in plans, official sources said: “The prime minister will first make a statement in Parliament on his visit to the US. It is not correct to state that he was avoiding the media.” The monsoon session of the Parliament begins tomorrow.
Meanwhile, just a day after left parties criticized Manmohan’s comments on the pipeline, the BJP yesterday accused him of “changing his tone” on the project.
Demanding a clarification on the government’s stand, BJP leader V.K. Malhotra said: “While Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has all along been asserting that India will not balk under US pressure, the prime minister has expressed security concerns.”
“It is very strange that the prime minister has realized the concerns during his US visit. There is confusion in the country. Is India under US pressure? The government must clarify,” Malhotra said.
Earlier, describing the prime minister’s comments regarding the pipeline as “unfortunate,” the left parties sought clarification whether the change in stand was due to his US trip.
Against this backdrop, the monsoon session of the Parliament in all probability will begin on a stormy note. The opposition and left parties are expected to confront the UPA government on several issues, including the Indo-US agreement on nuclear program, the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and the terrorist attack in Ayodhya.
Leaders of left parties yesterday gave Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee a list of issues they would raise in the house.
These include Manmohan’s visit to the US, recent price hike in petroleum products, disinvestment of BHEL and unemployment, among others.
During an hour-long luncheon meeting at the speaker’s residence, the left leaders assured him of their cooperation in the smooth conduct of business in the Parliament.
Rather than boycott the monsoon session, the BJP has decided to “attack” the UPA government on various issues. The BJP has given about 50 notices to the speaker on various issues, including the IMDT (Illegal Migrants Determination Tribunal) Act, the “deteriorating” internal security situation, the condition of farmers and the disinvestment of PSUs.
“We will very much participate in the session this time. We have decided to forcefully rap the government in Parliament on a number of political and economic issues,” BJP leader Malhotra said.
During the session, BJP will also question the Indo-US joint statement and praise of the British colonial rule by the prime minister.
Manmohan Rejects Incentive-Based Population Control
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday said government policy did not encourage incentive-based population control measures and coercion of any control to achieve it would not be acceptable.
Chairing the first meeting of the reconstituted National Commission on Population in New Delhi, Manmohan called for a three-pronged strategy focusing on the welfare of women and children, improving health and educational levels and balancing regional development to stabilize population.
“I would like to make it clear that our policy does not encourage incentives and disincentives as they have, at best, only a marginal impact and sometimes may even cause resentment and non-acceptance of the program,” Manmohan said.
Pointing out that coercion of any kind to achieve population stabilization was unacceptable in a free society, he said his government would evolve a development strategy focusing its attention on elimination of poverty and empowerment of women, keeping fertility reduction in the broader context.
Agreeing that human resource was an inevitable asset to a developing nation, Manmohan said there should be limits to the population in such a way that the environment should be able to sustain in the long run. “Therefore, sustainability of development processes requires a degree of population stabilization.”
“We must not mistake population stabilization to be population control. There is widespread consensus that population stabilization entails a holistic, comprehensive approach toward education and healthcare, particularly of our women and children,” Manmohan told the commission.
Expressing his apprehensions over the feasibility of a non-comprehensive population control policy, the prime minister said it should be integrated with the country’s wider development policy.
“In this context, I believe that unless our population policy is integrated with our wider development policy, it can never achieve the objective of population stabilization within a reasonable time frame.”
