Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today appeared to be keeping Congress options open for a tie up with the Left parties and other allies fighting his party in the post-poll scenario, saying he has had a good experience working with all of them.
However, he expressed confidence that the Congress would be able to form the government with its allies. At an interaction with the members of the Editors Guild of India here, he was asked whether Congress would take support of the Left parties in forming the next government. "We will cross the brige when we come to it. As of now I am confident that the Congress would be able to form the government (with allies). I have dealt with the Left parties, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sharad Pawar. "I have dealt with Jayalalithaa, DMK and PMK. I have also negotiated with Mufti Saheb (PDP leader). I have enough experience in dealing with diverse forces," he said. Asked whether he would like doing business with the Left, Singh said "well, I think circumstances will decide. But I was quite happy when as government we were dealing with the Left."
The Prime Minister said the Left parties had strong views on the nuclear issue and they had to leave. "But it was a matter of great privilege (working with them)." When asked whether the Congress would support the Left in forming the government as CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat had said the Communists will not support a Congress government, he said "we will deal with this question after the election results are out. But the fact is the present arrangement has worked well."
A questioner reminded him about his statement in November 2007 that if the nuclear deal did not go through he would live with the disappointment and his recent statement that he would have resigned in such a case and asked him what made him put his government to risk.
On being asked what made him put his government to risk he said that the government had negotiated the deal with the US for three years. It was also an issue that was being negotiated with countries like Russia, China and seeking the support of all 45 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, he said adding "we had resolved all issues to India's satisfaction." "If after all this I go and tell them 'no, thank you' we as a government would have looked foolish. People would have got an impression that it was a waste of time (of doing business with India). India's honour was at stake. It would have been disastrous. I thought this must be avoided.
