Dispelling apprehension of any advancement in Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday ruled out any confrontation with the Left over the nuclear agreement indicating that the UPA would not sacrifice the government for the deal.
?If the deal doesn?t come through, that is not the end of the world,? the Prime Minister said here. Echoing similar sentiments, Gandhi asserted that the Congress would do everything to ensure that the government lasts its full term till 2009. ?We are not looking for a confrontation. It is not in the dharma of coalition. The dharma is to work together,? she said.
The assertion by the two leaders, while sending positive signals to UPA partners and the Left, however, puts the nuclear deal under a cloud. Even though the Prime Minister defended the deal as ?honourable? and good, there is a growing sense in political circles that uncertainty has now engulfed the 123 agreement. While the government can still delay further movement on operationalisation of the deal, it can?t wait for too long and will have to take a stand on either dumping or pushing ahead with the deal by early next year.
?We will work to have a consensus with the Left, we are still in the process of talking to them,? Gandhi said. Singh too added that he had not given up hope that differences with the Left would not be reconciled.
Asked if he would be a weakened Prime Minister if the deal failed, Singh shot back, ?We are not a one-issue government. If the deal does not come through it will be a disappointment. But in life one has to live with certain disappointments and move on?.
The Congress president also refused to join issues with the Left on the nuclear deal. Asked to comment on their opposition, Gandhi maintained that they were not unreasonable. ?Left has certain ideology, they have some views. They are merely stating their views. We are working together and we have to take their views into account,? she said. Denying that she had attacked them at her rally in Haryana, she said her remarks were aimed at the Opposition. ?If I want to say something to the Left on which I don?t agree, the last thing I would do is to shout about it publicly. I would call them directly. Whenever I do not understand something, I speak to them? she said.
