Indian Prime Minister blames foreign NGOs for anti-nuclear demonstrations

Agence France-Presse ^ | February 24, 2012 | Agence France-Presse

[James C. Bennett]

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed US non-profit groups in an interview published Friday for whipping up anti-nuclear demonstrations that have stalled two new atomic plants.

Singh told the American journal "Science" that "the atomic energy programme has got into difficulties because these NGOs, mostly I think based in the US, don't appreciate the need for our country to increase the energy supply."

India's fast-growing economy is heavily dependent on coal, but the government hopes to raise the proportion of power produced from nuclear sources from less than three percent to 25 percent by 2050.

The groups are "often funded from the US and Scandinavian countries" and "are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces," he said, according to a copy of the article posted on his website.

India's plans to construct two massive atomic power stations in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and the western state of Maharashtra have been thrown into disarray following angry protests led by local villagers and activists.

An editorial in the local Mint daily newspaper said Friday the prime minister's comments on foreign NGOs and their impact on nuclear and agricultural policies are "indicative of the deep crisis of governance facing India today".

"While democratic India cannot dismiss out-of-hand the opposition both measures are facing, the challenge of convincing citizens of the necessity and urgency of adopting them falls to the government," it said.

"It is simply not enough for the prime minister to throw up his hands and blame NGOs for his own government's inability to get things done," the newspaper said.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Has anyone seen Bill and Bernadine lately?

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Singh told the American journal "Science" that "the atomic energy programme has got into difficulties because these NGOs, mostly I think based in the US

There's one area China is ahead of India - Chinese energy policy isn't subject to meddling by Western environmentalists.

[cashless]

Too bad India is like America: too timid to expel the rabble Robertson, declare them persona non grata, and throw their sorry butts into prison if they or their surrogates continue their activities. I wish like hell we would have had the courage to not disparage McCarthy’s efforts but had expelled every known and suspected communist and socialist when we had the chance in the 50’s. Just think. No SDS, no Black Panthers, no Weather Underground, no Trumpka, no Stern, no ACORN, no homosexual agenda or muted as in the past, no ever burgeoning Federal gov’t, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no Social Security Supplemental Insurance paying for alcoholism, drug abuse and treatment that doesn’t work, no amnesty since immigrations would be strictly controlled, and too many other ills we now suffer when the UnAmerican Activities Committee was disbanded. Yes I want to turn back the hands of time. I want the goodness of America to return in place of this evil facade we now endure.

[ravager]

Not “Western environmentalist”.... French and Russians are constructing nuclear reactors in India while American are funding environmental protests.