UAE | General

Expatriates hoping for total reform

The confidence vote secured by the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has enthused Indian expatriates in the UAE.

  • By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:03 July 24, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Businessman Sunil Bhatia says he found it hard to digest the manner in which some members of the opposition waved wads of money in the well of the House to substantiate bribery allegations.
  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
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Dubai: The confidence vote secured by the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has enthused Indian expatriates in the UAE.

Some hailed the UPA victory as a defining moment in the country's history; others expressed hope that the government will now be able to push ahead with its reforms agenda without worrying about the Left parties; there were also those who wanted the government to come clear in the face of bribery allegations brought by the opposition.

K.V. Shamsudheen, director, Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC, said 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 dependance 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 members of the opposition waved wads of money in the well of the House to substantiate bribery allegations.

Bhatia believes money had influenced the voting. "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 "There are those who believe the country is poised to emerge as one of the top three economic superpowers. Therefore, 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."

People's will

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 he was happy that a stable dispensation would govern until such time that elections were due.

"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.

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