Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's standoff with his Marxist allies over the Indo-US nuclear deal is starting to take its toll.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's standoff with his Marxist allies over the Indo-US nuclear deal is starting to take its toll.
The Left, irked by the Prime Minister's strong statement daring it to withdraw support if it could, is now looking for ways to distance itself from the government without actually toppling it.
As for Singh's bravado, the feeling in Congress circles is that he too might have gone too far in pushing the Left at a time when the party itself may be ill prepared for the consequences.
On Sunday, the PM spoke to CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury, indicating that he would address the Left's concerns on the nuclear deal when he addresses parliament on Monday.
While the immediate political fallout has been contained, there is little doubt that the Left is working to create its own political space ahead of the 2009 general elections.
One proposal under serious consideration is to withdraw from the UPA-Left coordination committee as the first step in a non-cooperation movement against the Manmohan Singh government.
The next step would be to forge an independent path in Parliament, placing the onus on the government to keep it functioning smoothly.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat hinted at this at a press conference in Thiruvanthapuram on Sunday. He said the responsibility of running the government was with the Congress.
There is also a growing demand within the Left to start the process of forging a Third Front alternative with non-Congress, non-BJP parties before the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
While the Left is clearly in a mood to strike out on its own, hard political realities are forcing it to hold back from taking the ultimate step of actually withdrawing support.
Moreover, the Left has used its strong position in the Lok Sabha to wangle concessions for its West Bengal and Kerala constituencies.
As one Left leader confessed, ``We have too many problems in Kerala and West Bengal at the moment to risk a general election. We need time to resolve them so that we can retain our present strength of 63 MPs in the next elections and be a force in the next Lok Sabha.''
It is with this in mind that Yechury accepted the olive branch extended by the Prime Minister on Sunday.
They spoke on the phone and the Prime Minister is believed to have assured Yechury that he will address their concerns when he makes a suo moto statement in Parliament on the nuclear deal.
There will also be a ``reconciliation'' meeting between Left leaders and the Prime Minister on Monday morning before Parliament begins.
Despite daring the Left to withdraw support from his government over the nuclear deal, the Prime Minister realises the risks involved in forcing a showdown at this point, which is why he too is climbing down.
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