UAE Indian expatriates happy over UPA's victory

{image-United Arab Emirates_24072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Dubai, Jul 24: Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed happiness over the UPA Government's trust vote victory in Parliament back home, describing it as a defining moment in the country's history.

According to the Gulf News, others expressed hope that the government will now be able to push ahead with its reforms agenda without worrying about the Left. Some also said that they wanted the government to come clean on the bribery allegations levelled by the opposition. The paper quoted K.V. Shamsudheen, director, Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC, as saying that he hoped Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would break his shackles.

"For the last four-and-half years, his government has been tied down on account of some his coalition partners. Energy dependence is one of the main obstacles to progress. When the entire world is turning to atomic energy, India can't afford to isolate itself. A person like Manmohan Singh would never sacrifice India's integrity," he said.

Businessman Sunil Bhatia said he found it hard to digest the manner in which some opposition members waved wads of money in the Well of the House to substantiate the bribery allegations.

"There is no smoke without fire. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not stupid to come to the House with a bagful of cash. But having said that, I am glad that the government can now push ahead with reforms. The Left parties had been setting the government back each time they sought to go ahead with the reforms."

Shyam Prasad, manager product and programme development, General Motors, Dubai, said: "The manner in which some lawmakers turned up with wads of cash in parliament was nothing short of a mockery of democracy. Things could have been handled and dealt with more diplomatically."

Abbas Ali Mirza, president of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), Dubai, said the decisive vote of confidence could well turn out to be a milestone in the country's march to superpower status.

"I believe, the UPA government's victory was a step in the right direction for the country - it will certainly send the right signals to the international community," he said.

Pradeep Parmar, managing director of distribution firm Enthusiasm, said it was only right that the will of the people had prevailed.

"If you elect the wrong people or those with low morale, they won't be in tune with the office they hold," he said.

K. Kumar, convenor ICWC, said: "We anticipate more reforms to come through which had been on hold because of the composition of the coalition. As far as the allegations of bribery are concerned, they should be investigated. In the current scenario, nothing can be ruled out but there has to be a thorough investigation and any culprits should be penalised," he said.

ANI