Proposal Brings Confidence Vote Tuesday
By Rama Lakshmi
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 19, 2008;
A08
NEW DELHI -- When a mild-mannered, Oxford-educated economist unexpectedly became India's prime minister four years ago, many feared he would be a puppet of his party's top leader. After all, he had never won a direct election and was seen as too academic for the intrigue and intensity of Indian politics.
But Manmohan Singh's apolitical background and squeaky-clean image were also his biggest assets. His name did not figure in any coterie or corruption scandals. As finance minister in the 1990s, he had fearlessly heralded India's economic reforms by quoting Victor Hugo: "No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come."
Now, as prime minister, the blue-turbaned Sikh is fighting the biggest political battle of his career as he tries to implement another radical initiative, one that he hopes will transform India in the 21st century: the historic nuclear energy agreement with the United States.
The agreement would give India access to nuclear fuel and technology, even though it has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. For months, however, the deal appeared to be near collapse because of opposition from Singh's allies and adversaries. Critics said it would erode India's sovereignty, tying the country to U.S. strategic interests and taking away its right to conduct nuclear tests.
When Singh, 75, dug in his heels and staked his reputation on the deal, the old charges about his lack of political acumen resurfaced. Colleagues and political observers wondered whether it was worth fighting for an issue that risked pushing the government toward an early election. Singh's term ends next May, and his Congress party was wary of going to the polls at a time when inflation rates are at a 13-year high.
Some political analysts said the prime minister was trying to leave his mark on history. The newsmagazine Outlook ran two consecutive cover stories about Singh. "Personal ego or national interest?" one headline asked. Another said simply: "The Great Gamble."
"Manmohan Singh has taken things to the brink this time for the sake of this nuclear deal. But it is difficult to see how the political parties will turn the nuclear deal into an election issue. It does not have the resonance to move the electorate," said Mahesh Rangarajan, an independent political analyst in New Delhi.
An opinion poll in Outlook magazine found that 73 percent of those living in India's big cities said inflation was a more pressing issue than the nuclear deal.
Last week, a coalition of communist parties withdrew its support from the government to protest the deal. The withdrawal precipitated a political crisis, and the government now faces a confidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday. Singh's party is scrambling to cobble together support from smaller, regional parties and independent lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the communist leaders are holding nationwide rallies calling Singh a stooge of the United States.
"Our prime minister is more interested in honoring his commitment to George Bush, instead of attending to people's problems," Prakash Karat, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said at a public gathering in New Delhi this week.
To counter the rallies, the Congress party launched what it calls "nuclear chariots," small trucks covered with posters detailing the benefits of the nuclear deal.
As political parties hold urgent meetings to muster the support of new members, allegations of impropriety have arisen. On Monday, a leader of the Communist Party of India, A.B. Bardhan, alleged that more than $5 million had been offered for support by allies of the Congress party.
Some observers say that because Singh is not a natural politician, his presentation of the nuclear deal was clumsy. He failed to adequately highlight the benefits of the deal in a country where remnants of Cold War-era anti-Americanism remain. Others said Singh made the battle too personal.
"He handled the whole issue in an extremely divisive manner. The prime minister made no attempt to consult either his allies or opponents. He kept the deal too close to his chest, made it entirely personal. In the process, he has created a political situation that is so deeply fractured around this deal," said Yashwant Sinha, a member of Parliament in the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which began the process of aligning India with the United States a few years ago. "He is the prime minister; he has to act like a politician."
Over the past four years, Singh has frequently been hamstrung by opposition from his communist allies. He watched helplessly when some allies insisted on including corrupt politicians in his cabinet. Rumors swirled in political and media circles that he was fed up and wanted to quit his job. His repeated insistence on austerity in government spending fell on deaf ears. Still, despite the challenges, he kept a low profile and led a frugal life that many Indians admired.
In his first Independence Day speech after assuming power, Singh said in his trademark self-effacing style that he has no promises to make, "only promises to keep."
When it came to the nuclear deal, however, Singh put his foot down for the first time. He argued at every turn that the deal was crucial to achieving energy security for the power-starved, emerging economy of more than a billion people. He said the deal protected India's strategic military program and did not take away India's right to conduct a nuclear test in the future.
Officials in Singh's office say he patiently engaged with his communist allies for nine months with the hope of bringing them around to his point of view.
"But in the end, he realized this was going nowhere. He said, 'We cannot do this endlessly.' He believes the deal is in our national interest," said Sanjaya Baru, a spokesman for Singh. "He is exercising the ultimate weapon that any politician has. He is willing to give up power for something he believes in. No ordinary power-hungry politician will do that these days."
On Wednesday, the strongest and most crucial show of support came from the heir apparent of Singh's Congress party, 38-year-old Rahul Gandhi. He told reporters that the deal was fundamental to India's energy problems.
"I also believe that you need guts to do it," Gandhi said. "I appreciate it. I would tell [Singh] to take the risk again, again and again. That is leadership."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.