Left Lurching in the Dark .......................

As the coming week awaits a check of authenticity of the Left threat to rock the boat, the placating powers of the Congress top brass to keep the house in order and the longevity of our Prime Minister’s valor in the face of a political hot-spot the aam janta remains as confounded as ever.

Throughout the previous week I have been an avid witness to numerous articles and television debates as to how the hallowed 1-2-3 Agreement would mitigate our power problems, how it is absolutely safe for us to co-operate with the US and how our sovereignty remains fiercely guarded through the various clauses in the pact.

Simple logic thus demands to know of the Leftist headmasters in New Delhi as to what calamity they foresee in the wake of furthering the deal. What terrible blasphemy awaits the nation, its internal security and its independent foreign policy? The Left seems obsessed with Iran and the ultimate dark force that the US embodies. It’s even a child’s guess that India cannot afford to annoy Iran owing to its own power requirements (the Iran-Pakistan-India Oil pipeline) and hence it will always look to avoid direct confrontation on Iran’s nuclear issue. So a head-on collision with Iran goes out of the window right away. Next, the Left was well aware of the ramifications of the nuclear deal eons before its clauses were being formulated and finalized. Its timing of venting protest in such a circumstance is thus dubious and self-contradictory. It clearly indicates that hard-ball isn’t being played with the nation’s interests reigning supreme in the minds of the politburo mandarins. There is something else which is fuelling such a sudden fire of concern and issue-based opposition.

These are anybody’s guess.

The General Elections are imminent on the horizon. The Left needs to distance itself from a party at this juncture with whom it is to engage in fierce ballot-battles not so far away in the future. People must know how the Left has played a perfect regulatory organ in checking the excesses of the Govt. on every issue concerning national security, the nuclear deal being the prime target.

What better time to enjoy the obvious fruits of wielding control without sharing the burden of power. Idle criticism never hurt the critic. Remember?

For long the hardliners in the party have been sidelined or silenced owing to the emergence of a new breed of forward looking Left leaders (read Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee & Co.) more pragmatic and progressive. Now that old-school Karat is at the helm the draconian overlords are again raising their heads with a vengeance. Hence, a totally anti-Govt. stance. Forget issue based support. If the Govt. says yes, stall it. If it says no, install it.

The common thread of irresponsible maneuvering that runs throughout the Left history must see a prompt demise. Otherwise, if the Left pulls the rug off the Govt.’s feet and the country is pushed into another ill-timed election they will be held solely responsible for inviting instability at a time when the country is savoring its share of sunshine. It will be better that they continue their tirade against the Govt. on more pressing internal issues and not succumb to the lure of visibility in the political arena just for the sake of it. Their firm opposition on issues-close-home such as EPF rates and oil prices are welcome and will pre-empt detractors from labeling their continuous contentions as mere political posturing. A structured Left represents a sizeable political base and thus is to be taken seriously as a force to reckon with in the ‘Great Indian Political Spectrum’. But, giving in to hackneyed obduracy and clichéd confrontations with the Govt. will only sully its image.

Let logic reign supreme.