Matters surrounding the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal continue to dominate the pages of Urdu newspapers as, indeed, is the case in other sections of the press. In its editorial entitled, ‘New political alignments’, Rashtriya Sahara (July 14) says that the matter has been alive for over three years, but the Left suddenly took a very serious step because it had become imperative for it to withdraw support to the UPA government as elections to some assemblies and the Parliament were not far off. It could not have faced voters after supporting a government that has close links with the United States and formalised a nuclear deal with it. On the other hand, the Left — and the BJP — wants to cash in on the inflation and rise in prices that have been of great concern to the people. Jamaat-e-Islami’s organ, the biweekly Daawat (July 13), says that the nuclear deal has become more an issue of ego and political pride than the country’s interests. “All political parties are playing politics unmindful of the sentiments of the people, that has also posed a danger to the government,” it writes. On the issue of Muslim opposition to the deal, well known writer and journalist Hasan Kamal, in his column in Rashtriya Sahara (July 12) says that Muslims are not against America or the Americans, for, otherwise they would not have craved for green cards and jobs in the United States for their children. But “they hate the US President, George ...” Hind Samachar, published from Jalandhar and Ambala, writes (July 6) that while the Congress-Samajwadi Party agreement has, in substance, made the path of the nuclear deal smooth, it has also caused new political alignments in the country. The paper anticipates great changes in Indian politics with the SP’s support to the nuclear deal.

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