On bumpy nuclear-deal road, UPA switches on Left indicator

That signal is not-so subtly couched in a series of carefully chosen steps which today included an unusually strong rebuff to Washington for commenting on the April 29 visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And the cancellation of a joint media interaction on Konkan 2008, the Indo-UK joint naval exercise that gets underway the same day Ahmadinejad is in India. Significantly, USS Cole is in Indian waters as an observer.

“India and Iran are ancient civilizations whose relations span centuries. Both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship with the appropriate degree of care and attention...Neither country needs any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations as both countries believe that engagement and dialogue alone lead to peace,” said the MEA spokesperson in response to queries on remarks made in Washington last evening.

While this was bound to provoke a reaction from New Delhi, it’s the tenor of the reaction that surprised many, laced as it was by unusual rhetoric: “It is important that the genius of each nation living in a particular region is respected and allowed to flower to meet the expectations of enriching relations with neighbours.”

This fits in with the moves the government has made in the past three months to underline that it’s pursuing an “independent foreign policy” — the centrepiece of the Left’s criticism of the Manmohan Singh government.

The Left’s key accusations: India damaged its relationship with Iran at the cost of supporting the US; India is soft on Israel; there have been no political visits to the Gulf and the PM has ignored the neighbourhood by not undertaking a bilateral visit and, of course, not promoting closer ties with Russia and China.

... contd.