India no-confidence vote

India's nuclear deal with the United States brought about a vote of confidence for the government that it barely survived today. Both leftist and right-wing parties rose up again Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government, with the Communist Party and their brethren claiming that the treaty "would make India little more than an American pawn."
Let's hope this sentiment was purely that, an emotionally charged statement made to cause anti-American fervor within the opposition to the Congress-led government of India because in all other ways, this deal seems to be practically a freebie for India. In exchange for opening up most of its civilian nuclear plants, India gets access to nuclear technology and materials from other nations. Note that I am not saying that India has to give up its nuclear arsenal or sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty... Unlike all other nations who have access to international nuclear technology and material markets (aside from powerhouses like the US), all other nations had to sign the treaty and most had to give up their nuclear arsenals (if they had them). That puts India on equal footing with superpowers like the United States and Russia. That is why I reiterate, I hope the Communist Party was only trying to drum up votes when it claimed that this treaty makes India an American pawn; if anything, India comes out looking far more powerful than it ever has before.
As an aside, I would like to note that the Indian PM was put to a vote of no-confidence because he did what was in the best interest of the nation. I wonder whether such a vote would have arisen had the deal been put through by any nation besides the US...

[via Guardian]