PM no greenhorn

Congress leaders, who for the last four years dismissed Manmohan Singh as a political novice, have had to eat their words.

Congress leaders, who for the last four years dismissed Manmohan Singh as a political novice, have had to eat their words. Not only did the PM manage to get a reluctant party to toe his line on the nuclear deal but also it was Singh who suggested the alternate strategy when the Left pulled out. Despite Sonia Gandhi blacklisting Amar Singh, the PM had shrewdly maintained a back channel with the SP leader all along. After the famous dinner snub four years back, the PM telephoned Amar Singh personally to invite him to his swearing in. He has met the SP general secretary several times in his office and on the UPA8217;s fourth anniversary even reserved a place for him at his own table. Incidentally, at the dinner Brinda Karat exchanged a mischievous glance with Sonia Gandhi when Amar Singh walked in, since the Left complacently assumed that the SP was persona non grata with the Congress.

Prakash Karat was totally taken aback when he informed the SP that the end game was at hand, only to have Amar Singh counter, 8220;We cannot be a party to humiliating and bringing down the PM8221;.

Ignoring 8216;stop8217; sign

The Left feels betrayed more by Sonia Gandhi than the Prime Minister. The latter had never hidden his determination to go ahead with the deal, but the Congress president gave the impression she was willing to yield to the Communists. There was a meeting last November attended by Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan. On the nuclear deal, Bardhan remarked that while going ahead with negotiations, 8220;When we say stop, you will stop?8221; Sonia nodded her head, which the Left took as the last word.

Respond 8216;At Once8217;

Just how much clout Amar Singh now commands in the PMO can be judged by two letters issued by the PMO on July 8 to key ministries. One letter is to the Telecom and Economic Affairs ministries forwarding Amar Singh8217;s letter of July 2 asking for a re-examination of the terms for the use of spectrum. The other is to the Petroleum and Commerce ministries ordering them to examine the possibility of imposing a windfall profit tax on private petroleum companies. Both letters have been marked, At Once, suggesting a new official terminology more fast-track than even the traditional Urgent and Most Immediate.

International commitment

While conducting the House, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee frequently threatened to resign in protest over MPs defying his orders and disrupting proceedings. But when it came to the crunch and his party wanted him to quit, the old warhorse has dug in his heels. If the Congress has made an international commitment on the nuclear deal, the Speaker, too, has made an international commitment to remain in office. Three years back, Chatterjee played a key role in getting Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly Hashim Haleem elected chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association by requesting the rival candidate to step down. Now Chatterjee feels he is honour bound to work for the country which gave up its place for India. It is because of the meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Malaysia that Chatterjee had delayed the monsoon session till August 11.

Pati, patni aur woh

Amar Singh has a way with words, even if not everyone approves of his colourful, street savvy, style. He describes the SP8217;s relationship with the Left as a case of pati, patni aur woh, with the Samajwadi as the other woman. The mistress and wife have now joined hands. Singh no longer blames Sonia Gandhi for snubbing him at her first dinner for the UPA allies. It was after all Surjeet who dragged him and it was, therefore, the responsibility of the Communists to have protected him when he was treated like a pariah by the hostess. Singh also resented the CPIM8217;s double standards. While the SP supported the Left in Parliament over Nandigram, Brinda Karat and Subhasini Ali demonstrated against Mulayam Singh8217;s government for the Nithari killings.

Generation gap

Rahul Gandhi is not wrong when he claims that most younger MPs are in favour of the nuclear deal. In fact, the generation gap in attitudes towards the deal is visible even in first families of parties like the Akali Dal, the PMK, the DMK and the National Conference. Sukhbir Badal, Anbumani Ramadoss, Kanimozhi and Omar Abdullah are all reportedly pro deal.