Deadline Hokkaido

New Delhi has been aware for some time that the annual summit of the leaders from the Group of Eight developed countries and the five developing countries, including India, at Hokkaido in Japan early next month was an absolute deadline for it to make up its mind on the civil nuclear initiative. Having sought international support over the last three years for ending the country8217;s nuclear isolation, the head of the Indian government could not have presented himself, yet again, as a hapless victim of domestic wrangling and pleaded for more patience. Before he headed for the G-8 summit, the prime minister needed a 8220;yes8221; or 8220;no8221; from the UPA on implementing the nuclear deal.

Even on Wednesday, in the run-up to the ninth round of UPA-Left nuclear talks, sections of the Congress were apparently pressing the PM not to precipitate a crisis. The Congress8217;s appetite for humiliation at the hands of the communists might be insatiable. But no self-respecting government could have endured this any longer. At stake was not just the personal pride of Manmohan Singh, who has persisted with the nuclear initiative amidst the seeming lack of enthusiasm in his own party, but the very prestige of his office and the international credibility of India as a nation. After all, the rest of the world has watched, with a mixture of pity and condescension, the Indian government twisting in the wind for almost a year.

The PM was entirely right in putting his foot down and demanding a closure. We applaud Congress President Sonia Gandhi for rallying the party behind Manmohan Singh and staring the communists in the eye. The failed UPA talks on Wednesday, however, did not amount to a denouement in a nuclear drama that seems to have no end. They merely underlined the fact that the differences between the government and the Left are irreconcilable. The Congress leadership must now let the government formally approach the International Atomic Energy Agency and face up to the communist threat to withdraw support to the ruling coalition.