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In 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced a major challenge – mustering support for the civil nuclear deal. Singh used the same network that helped him garner support as finance minister for economic reforms, but the LK Advani-led BJP refused to support him. What is worse, the Left parties, which were a major force in UPA-1, refused to support the agreement and instead joined hands with their arch enemy, the BJP.
Given the hostility towards the deal, Singh told his American counterpart that despite the benefits of the civil nuclear deal, he could not pursue it. This author was informed by the State Department in Washington that they were running out of ideas when it came to taking the deal forward and were on the verge of abandoning it. After that something changed.
Ideally, this revelation should have come from Singh himself, but now he and the party have started showing more determination. A major drama was staged in Parliament, with allegations of “money for votes” being aired. MPs from the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also wanted to go to Raisina Hill to stop the voting, claiming that cash was corrupting the voting process, but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee intervened on behalf of the government and allowed the voting to take place. .
It was indeed a nail-biting affair in which Singh kept his composure. The next election was fought on the deal and the charisma of Manmohan Singh.
