By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government was mired in deeper trouble Tuesday over the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal when angry MPs took it to task over the reported remarks of its envoy in Washington who had questioned their wisdom in rejecting what he termed an “unprecedented” agreement.
The resultant parliamentary furore gave communists and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party MPs yet another handle to attack the government which is fighting not only to save the painstakingly negotiated deal but also the very survival of its coalition.
Even though Indian envoy Ronen Sen said he had alluded to the media in his “running around like headless chicken” remarks, which the parliamentarians protested against vehemently, the MPs saw it as a slur on them and demanded that the ambassador apologise and asked the government to withdraw him.
Sen had told Rediff India Abroad in an interview, “What is in the agreement which they are not satisfied with?” he asked. “Not one,” and noted that such an agreement was unprecedented in the annals of India’s history since its independence 60 years ago.
“Why we don’t have a little bit of confidence,” he said, adding that he was “really amazed” over the current drama and debate over the deal in parliament.
“All that is in the agreement,” he said, “There is no precedence in the United States” either where such an agreement has been so transparent. “Even before it is signed, we made it public — and that is the most authoritative.”
“It has been approved here (in Washington, DC) by the President, and there (in New Delhi) it’s been approved by the Indian cabinet. So why do you have all this running around like headless chicken, looking for a comment here or comment there, and these little storms in a tea-cup?”
Sen later apologised for the “headless chicken” remarks, but said the “tactless” reference was to “some of my media friends” and not parliamentarians and it had been misunderstood and quoted out of context.
In a message to Rediff India Abroad, Sen said he “had an off-the-record conversation with the correspondent giving some assessments” on the deal.
“For instance, my comment about ‘running round like headless chicken looking for a comment here or comment there’ was a tactless observation on some of my media friends, and most certainly not with reference to any Hon’ble Member of Parliament.
“It was certainly not my intention to cast aspersion on any individual or organization. However, if I have unwittingly hurt any sentiments, I offer my unqualified apologies,” Sen said.
But Rediff India Abroad stood by its story, saying: “At no point of the conversation did the ambassador specify that it was off-the-record or even on background.”
In parliament, before releasing the statement, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee had a long meeting with two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Basudeb Acharya to sort out the matter. The full text of the interview was shown to them, even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi joined them for lunch.
Mukherjee said: “In democracy there will always be dissension and divergence of opinions. Nobody can accuse others who hold divergent views. I regret the alleged comments, which have hurt the feelings of honourable members.”
However, CPI-M leaders refused to budge. When the two houses met for the post-lunch session, CPI-M members joined BJP MPs to demand Sen’s recall.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee assured the MPs that if the remarks had indeed been made, action could be taken against the ambassador.
The issue led to adjournment of the parliament.
Meanwhile, India’s ruling Congress Tuesday indicated that it was committed to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal while party sources said they were prepared to face an “inevitable” withdrawal of support from Left allies.
Informed sources in the government said that they would go ahead with the deal despite the firm stand that the Left parties have taken against it. They also said that Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar would attend an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna next month and would continue New Delhi’s negotiations with regard to the agreement.
However, sources in the CPI-M, which along with its three allies has asked the government not to make the deal operational, reiterated that the Left would pull the plug if the government takes up negotiations at the IAEA meeting.
“We are waiting for the government’s next move on this. It has not responded to the Left’s unanimous stand against the deal. But if it goes ahead with it, we will be forced to take the extreme step,” a politburo member told IANS.
Talking to reporters after a discussion with Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee, communist leader Sitaram Yechury said the Left was not against the government’s participating in the IAEA meeting, but reiterated that there should not be “any negotiations on the India-specific safeguards with regard to the Indo-US nuclear deal”.
He said his party would have no objection to India participating in the IAEA meeting as a member country in the annual general meeting as it does for Unesco and Unicef. The 51st annual general conference of the UN atomic watchdog will be held Sep 17-21 and the pre-conference meetings on Sep 15 and 16.
But Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters that there was “no change in the government’s stance”. Though he declined to elaborate, party sources indicated that the government would send its envoy for discussing the India-specific safeguards. In his daily briefing, Singhvi focussed on the advantages of the nuclear deal, giving a clear indication that the government was ready to risk the Left’s withdrawal of support.
“The guiding polestar in whatever we have done or whatever we are going to do is the national interest. We do not negotiate out of fear,” Singhvi told reporters.
The Congress feels that even if the Left withdraws support, it would not back a no-confidence motion brought by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The government can continue as a minority government with the Left extending support to some people-friendly legislations – a scenario that gives us enough time to prepare for a poll,” said a minister, adding that no party including the Left was prepared for elections now.
The Congress leaders indicated that there were non-BJP parties ready to extend support to the government, but they would “have to pay a heavy price” to keep them in the fold.
Asked whether the party was ready for elections, Singhvi said: “We are never unready for elections.”