M A I N   N E W S

N-Ordeal
Going gets tougher as no one wants to budge
T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21
The country’s political firmament is caught in the spectre of an impending snap general elections with the hardening of stand of the Congress-led UPA and the Left parties, respectively, on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in spite of the government’s insistence that the Manmohan Singh government will complete its five-year term.

Parliamentarians from all sides believe that the die has been cast for a Lok Sabha poll with leader of the opposition and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani maintaining that the UPA government will not complete its full term in office and that a snap poll is round the corner.

He said it had become certain that the elections might be held in 2007 or 2008.

“Though it was not clear exactly when the Manmohan Singh government will collapse, it is sure that it will not survive 2008,” Advani observed.

Even though most political parties and groups of the ruling coalition are not in favour of a mid-term poll, they are convinced that with every passing day a fresh controversy connected with the deal is making matters that much more difficult for the government.

The Left is adamant that the government should not operationalise the deal and immediately call a halt to the upcoming discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna next month and subsequently the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

On its part, the Manmohan Singh government is firm that there is no going back on the historic nuclear deal that has been cleared by the union cabinet though every effort will be made to address the concerns of the Left parties on the floor of Parliament next week.

Sources in the government explain that the brakes on the negotiations cannot be applied at this juncture as these are processes that have to be completed before the 123 Agreement becomes a reality.

The talks with the IAEA are to take place some time next month and there is enough time to convince the Left comrades that the provisions of the deal or the Hyde Act do not harm the country’s interests.

Even as union Railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi are against mid-term elections, the former is believed to have impressed upon Left leaders that they may find the going very tough in case of a snap poll.

Yadav wants the Left parties not to disturb the applecart and create a delicate situation for themselves, should they have to face the electorate.

Yadav’s intended message is that the Left parties will not be able to muster a tally of 60-odd seats in the Lok Sabha under current circumstances due to various factors.

The RJD leader’s problems in Bihar are not too different either. The party’s image has eroded, adversely affecting its chances of making any significant impact in case of a snap poll.

Then there is the Nitish factor. The RJD has not been able to make any major breakthrough so far after its defeat in the last assembly elections.

The Left believes it is time the central leadership tells the truth about the nuclear deal. The starting point for breaking the impasse is for the government to stall the next step connected with firming up of the nuclear deal. Clearly, both sides are biding for time.

Left leaders insist they have not alluded to or talked of pulling down the government. At the same time, they are prepared for elections tomorrow but cannot support a deal that has serious repercussions for the government and the country.

Undeterred by the crisis, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has left for South Africa even as the political crisis sparked by the Left’s objections to the nuclear deal has intensified.

She is on a four-day visit at the invitation of South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. That is ample indication that till next week the government will go through its motions, preparing for the discussion on the deal in Parliament.