Sonia Gandhi speaks up

Sonia Gandhi needs to be complimented for finally speaking out in unambiguous terms with regard to the issue that has kept the UPA government on the hop for the last few months "" the civil nuclear deal with the United States. She has termed those opposed to the agreement as enemies of development "" which is true enough, given the role that nuclear power is supposed to play in the country's future energy scenario. Put in such simple terms, it is also a message that might find strike a chord with voters, who are used to endless power cuts in most parts of the country. The important signal therefore is not the economic one, and lies in the realm of politics, which is to say that the Congress has had enough of putting up with the Left's posturing on the subject, and is now prepared to call a spade a spade. If the Left does not back off, then Sonia Gandhi has stated that she is ready to go in for fresh elections. Prakash Karat has so far given no indication that he is ready for any compromise, and once tough postures are adopted in public, private compromises become next to impossible. Barring an unexpected capitulation by the Left, the chances of Lok Sabha elections in the first half of 2008 have just gone up, and the Election Commission has responded by asking all its state-level officers to keep electoral rolls ready by January.

What this leaves in some doubt is the fate of the nuclear deal itself, mostly because the mechanics of each of the remaining steps is not entirely clear. If the Manmohan Singh government loses its majority on the issue, it will be hard for the government to press ahead with follow-up action to make the deal a reality; a "lame-duck" government should not be taking major decisions on the very issue that led to its loss of a majority. However, if the government were to have signed a break-through agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency before the Left yanks the rug from under the government's feet, then it may be possible to argue that the downstream clearance by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group can be given unilaterally; India is not a member of the group and therefore does not have to do anything. All that would leave then is the final US Congress vote "" where too the government in New Delhi has no role "" before the deal is inked. That final step could presumably be left to whichever government emerges after the dust of the elections. If deals with the IAEA and NSG are in place, and the US Congress has given a final green signal, then it is hard to see any government in New Delhi refusing to sign at the end of the page. As Sonia Gandhi put across quite simply to a rural audience on Sunday, this deal will allow the country to generate more electricity.