Who says our Prime Minister is a soft-spoken leader, he has showed that he has a strong heart too. He has showed the daring to threaten left parties that is UPA’s most important ally in Lok Sabha to withdraw support.
The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is looking serious to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal despite of the disagreement coming from other political blocks in the country. Manmohan Singh has dared the Left parties, which is UPA’s most important ally in Parliament, to withdraw support to the UPA government if they desire to do so.
This is being said that the PM’s obscured threat came in light when he had a telephonic talk with CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat three days before. PM clearly told Prakash Karat that the nuclear deal was a complete deal. It would be now impossible for the government of India to pull the legs back from it.
According to the report, PM clearly told him that the left parties are free to take any decision. He even said him that if they could not go ahead on the issue, then, they might agree to part ways gracefully.
During an interview with a newspaper, PM also said:
I told Left parties that it is not possible to renegotiate the deal. It is an honorable deal, the Cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it.
The support of 64-member Left Front in the Lok Sabha is very much crucial for the UPA government. Earlier on Friday, CPI-M leader Prakash Karat and CPI leader AB Bardhan had warned UPA government that they will have to pay a ‘heavy price’ if it would decide to go ahead with the nuclear deal.
On this statement, PM said that he was not angry but agonized at the ruthless tone and intention of Left’s reaction. The UPA-Left political relationship might not be a one-sided affair. The newspaper quoted him as:
I don’t get angry, I don’t want to use harsh words. They are our colleagues and we have to work with them. But they also have to learn to work with us.
According to him, the Left had a imperfect perceptive not just about the 123 Agreement, but also of India’s built-in strength and its improved status in the world.
He said:
The nuclear deal is an honorable one which enlarged India’s development options particularly in regard to energy security and environmental protection and doesn’t in any way affect our ability to pursue our nuclear weapons programme.
There were some rumors about PM’s decision of stepping down when he had a talk with Karat after his public rejection of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Later, it was proved as mere ‘gossip’.
On the other hand, the left parties are also looking firm on their stand on the nuclear deal by calling it as national tragedy. The Left Front parties had a meeting on Friday to discuss the nature of their strategy in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Left leader Dasgupta said that the Congress should understand the ‘gravity of the situation’. The Left cannot close its eyes to such a development.
Read
