India-US n-deal will alter regional power balance: Dhaka daily

The India-US civil nuclear deal ‘will dramatically alter the strategic landscape and balance of power’ in the South Asian region, a Dhaka daily has said.

‘The implications for countries like Bangladesh are considerable, and this deal now going through should precipitate sober and serious reflection as to what the impact on bilateral and regional relations will be,’ The Daily Star said in an editorial on Thursday.

‘…this is something that will need to be looked at very closely by Bangladeshi policy-makers,’ the newspaper said, after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday won the confidence vote on the issue.

‘We shall comment separately on the merits of the deal as we see them, both for India and for the region, specifically for what it means for us in Bangladesh,’ the editorial said.

The English language daily expressed ‘satisfaction’ at the outcome of the trust vote won by the Manmohan Singh government ‘with a wider than expected margin’.

‘Felicitations are due to the Indian prime minister, who had essentially staked his entire premiership on this deal and was vindicated by the 275-256 victory with ten abstentions,’ the newspaper said.

‘The Congress-led UPA alliance will now be on firmer footing in the Lok Sabha for the balance of its tenure and the victory should give it a shot in the arm for the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held within the next year,’ it observed.

On the allegations made by the Indian opposition ‘of vote buying and horse trading’, it said Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had already ordered an inquiry, ‘although we have yet to see any evidence that we find persuasive presented thus far’.

‘For the present, let us congratulate the Indian prime minister on the successful stewardship of his bold policies, and India itself can take gratification in how the entire furore was handled and ultimately disposed of in parliament, as such things should be done in a democracy,’ the newspaper said.

Courtesy :- Yahoo

Classrooms more disciplined than LS: Students

School and college students, watching the raucous two-day debate in Parliament on a trust motion sought by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were stunned to see MPs springing to their feet and shouting at the slightest provocation, caring little for the speaker.

”Parliament resembles a school with a helpless teacher (the speaker) taking care of a bunch of hooligans. And he has nothing to tame them with,” Harshat Malhotra, a Class 12 student of Mount St Mary’s School said.

”Classrooms are much better that these Parliament sessions,” said Achal Uppal, a second year student, Indraprastha University.

”We guys do fight with each other, but that just strengthens our bond. These people (MPs) seem to be fighting each other with the intention to kill.”

As the two-day confidence motion debate was beamed live into Indian homes news channels, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee looked formidable as he constantly chided members – like a teacher does to errant schoolchildren – for disrupting MPs who were speaking or for simply not sitting in their seats and roaming around when the crucial vote counting was going on at night.

But the ”class” he presided over seemed out of control.

”This is the Parliament of India. The whole nation is watching you,” was Chatterjee’s constant refrain. His futile efforts evoked sympathy from youngsters, even those who have played a prank or two with their teachers.

Said Anmol Narang, a Class 12 student at K R Mangalam World School: ”The Parliament session has no resemblance with our school. It’s shameful. Our school principal is way more strong than the speaker or deputy speaker. They are completely helpless. Unlike MPs, our fellow students are more disciplined.”

Tanvi Nagpal saw a reflection of some of her classmates in Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren whom she found snoozing during the debate.

”When we saw a snoozing Shibu Soren we could relate to Parliament,” said Tanvi, a Class 9 student of Modern School. But school is much ”better organised than Parliament,” she said.

Taha Siddiqui, an undergraduate student in the Jamia Milia University said: ”It is an insult to schools to call the Lok Sabha a classroom! Even the kids in a school are not that boisterous and ill mannered.

”I can never imagine my classmates or myself for that matter yelling at a teacher! I wonder if they ever attended school. In fact they need to!”

Courtesy :- NDTV