The Doctor is in

Without losing any time, the Prime Minister assigned eight envoys, including three ministers to travel to the 45 countries of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Clearly, the government has pressed on the accelerator given that the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on the India-specific safeguards agreement is on August 1. Both India and the US are keen to complete the NSG process, which follows the IAEA clearance, before the US Congress meets in September.

At the end of the two-day trust vote debate, marred by the sight of cash tumbling out of bags in the well of the House amid allegations of bribery by BJP MPs, the UPA had reason to be triumphant. Defeating the ideological resistance from the Communists and the confusion of the BJP, 275-256 — with 10 abstentions — the UPA not only cleared the way for the next steps in the nuclear deal, it also defeated, at least for now, the fledgling alliance that had crystallised almost overnight around the Maya-as-Prime-Minister nucleus.

No wonder then that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s hard-hitting reply which couldn’t be read amid the noise of the Opposition began with one of the strongest political attacks he has ever made targeting both BJP leader L K Advani and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.

In his reply, the PM accused Advani of trying to “topple” his government thrice in the past four years and urged the Left rethink the company they have been forced into “because of miscalculations by their General Secretary”.

“He (Advani) has described me as the weakest Prime Minister, a nikamma PM, and of having devalued the office of PM. To fulfil his ambitions, he has made at least three attempts to topple our government. But on each occasion his astrologers have misled him. At his ripe old age, I do not expect Shri Advani to change his thinking. But for his sake and India’s sake, I urge him at least to change his astrologers so that he gets more accurate predictions of things to come,” said Singh.

Singh, who came in for some sharp personal attack by the BJP, Left and other parties opposing the motion in the last two days, had intended to deliver a no-holds barred reply in which he expressed the frustration the Left had caused for him despite his efforts and said: “They wanted a veto over every single step of negotiations which is not acceptable. They wanted me to behave as their bonded slave.”

However, a raging Opposition was unwilling to hear Singh out. Incensed over allegations by some BJP MPs that they had been offered money for their vote by the Samajwadi Party — a charge its general secretary Amar Singh denied — and bringing those bundles of cash to the well of House, the BJP was determined not to allow proceedings in House after two adjournments. The din and sloganeering multiplied when the PM rose to speak. After a feeble attempt to read the first few lines of his reply, Singh chose to submit his written statement to the House.

Singh was particularly pointed in his attack of Advani, questioning his competence as NDA’s Home Minister and also recalling his role during the Babri Masjid demolition to drive home the point to the Left that they were in the wrong camp.

“Can our nation forgive a Home Minister who slept when the terrorists were knocking at the doors of our Parliament? Can our nation forgive a person who single handedly provided the inspiration for the destruction of the Babri Masjid with all the terrible consequences that followed? To atone for his sins, he suddenly decided to visit Pakistan and there he discovered new virtues in Mr. Jinnah. Alas, his own party and his mentors in the RSS disowned him on this issue. Can our nation approve the conduct of a Home Minister who was sleeping while Gujarat was burning leading to the loss of thousands of innocent lives? Our friends in the Left Front should ponder over the company they are forced to keep because of miscalculations by their General Secretary.”

Singh was careful to ensure that his attack was confined to Karat when he was criticising the Left and to underline that he once again recalled the “guidance and support” he has got from CPM stalwarts like Jyoti Basu and Harkishen Singh Surjeet. Yet, when it came to describing himself, he said: “I am a politician by accident.”

In what would have been an emotional appeal to the House, the PM said he had never forgotten his first ten years as a child living in a village where he had to study using the “dim light of a kerosene lamp” and having to walk miles to reach school. “This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future. Sir, my conscience is clear that on every day that I have occupied this high office, I have tried to fulfil the dream of that young boy from that distant village.”

Effective strength of House: 541

UPA strength before vote: 260

Votes for UPA: 275

Votes against UPA: 256

Abstentions/No show: 10

Opposition MPs who voted in favour of Govt

BJP (5): Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (Balrampur); Somabhai Patel (Surendranagar); Manorama Madhawraj (Udupi); Manjunath Kunnur Channappa (Dharwad South); H T Sangliana (Bangalore North) TDP (2): Audikeshavalu (Chitoor); M Jagannath (Nagarkurnool)

JD(S) (1): M Shivanna (Chamarajanagar)

JD(U) (1): Ramswarup Prasad (Nalanda)

BJD (1): Harihara Swain (Aska)

TRS (1): A Narendra (Medak)

NLP (1): Baleshwar Yadav (Padrauna)

Independents (3): S K Bwismuthiary (Kokrajhar), Mani Charenamei (Outer Manipur), N Nakuldas (Sikkim)

2 from Opposition camp abstained, 8 didn’t show up

These included Sukhdev Singh Libra of Akali Dal, Tukaram Renge Patil of Shiv Sena, Mamata Banerjee of TMC, P P Koya of JD(U), Vanlalzawma of MNF, and four from BJP — Babubhai Katara, Chandrabhan Singh, Haribhai Rathore and Srikantappa K C.