The Hindu Business Line : Will UPA govt pull it off?

New Delhi, July 21 With less than 24 hours to go for the vote on the confidence motion moved by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the survival of his Government continues to be uncertain. The odds however, as of now, seem to favour the ruling United Progressive Alliance just about managing the required numbers.

While sections of the political spectrum feel that the UPA will have little trouble in crossing the mid-way mark of 272 necessary for its survival as about 15 Members of Parliament from various Opposition parties have agreed to either abstain from voting or cast their mandate in favour of the motion, this view is scoffed at by others.

Currently, the Congress-led UPA Government has 153 members and can count on support from another 115 members taking its tally to 268, four short of the required number.

With the countdown ticking, all attempts are being made to woo the undecided MPs.

Key speakers

The UPA will field the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, and Mr Rahul Gandhi as the key speakers in the debate on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister will also make a statement before the vote is taken, sometime after 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, moving the one-line confidence motion on Monday, the Prime Minister asserted that every single decision taken by the Government was in the “best interest” of the people of the country. “Since I assumed office, I did all in the interest of the nation,” he added

The Leader of the Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Mr L.K. Advani, said that the Indo-US nuclear deal had become an agreement between two individuals.

“If the government were so serious about the deal, why was the deal not mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme or even in the Congress manifesto,” Mr Advani said.

The Minister for External Affairs, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said the Government would seek the consent of Parliament before operationalising the nuclear deal.

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