Indian Government Survives Confidence Vote

[varun]

Source: NYT

NEW DELHI — The Indian government survived a motion of confidence in Parliament Tuesday evening, paving the way for India to seal a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States but leaving the entire parliamentary process tainted by dramatic allegations of bribery made on the floor of the house.

In a wider margin of victory than had been predicted by politics watchers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who initiated the confidence motion, won 275 votes, while his opponents secured 256 votes, and 11 members abstained. It came on the heels of two days of acrimonious debate and constant heckling of speakers, including at Mr. Singh, who was unable to finish his closing speech to the legislature.

The significance of the vote goes well beyond the survival of Mr. Singh’s administration, or even the fate of the one policy issue on which he staked his legacy: an agreement initiated by the Bush Administration more than two years ago that would allow India access to nuclear fuel and technology on the world market. The nuclear deal, hailed as a centerpiece of deepening India-U.S. friendship, now needs the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to go to the United States Congress for a final up-or-down vote.

In this country, the real impact of Tuesday’s vote will be felt in the coming months, as major and minor political parties in India’s deeply fractured political system prepare for national elections that must be held before this government’s term expires in May 2009. The confidence vote has dramatically rearranged old political alliances, sharpened the divide between political adversaries, and threatened to intensify public cynicism here towards elected leaders....



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/world/asia/23india.html?hp

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Brace yourself for the mangoes coming from India...