Leader of the Opposition LK Advani has aptly described the UPA's present position as that of a "Government in the ICU". For good measure, he has added, "I am not a doctor and, therefore, cannot predict what will happen to it." For Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress nothing could be more galling yet true.

The various statements of UPA leaders on the imminent collapse of this Government indeed look like the medical bulletins on the condition of a patient in the ICU. Some Congress leaders say that the Government is ready to call the Left's bluff, others wonder whether they should sacrifice the Government to uphold the prestige of the Prime Minister.

The UPA's senior most leader and DMK chief Muthuvel Karunanidhi flies down from Chennai and insists that the Government will be saved. UPA partner and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav says that the present situation is not good for an early poll. NCP's Sharad Pawar has been calling on Prakash Karat and pleading for mercy.

Mr Karat seems to be enjoying his role of executor-general, flaunting the black warrant he has kept ready for the UPA Government in case it goes ahead with the India-US nuclear deal. All this while the Prime Minister has been saying that the deal is important from the point of view of national interest and that he is ready to face the Left's threat of withdrawing al of support to his Government.

Apparently the Congress leadership is both ready and not ready to face the electorate. One tends to pity the Prime Minister who is unable to carry either his party or the allies on an issue that he considers so vital to his prestige.

One reason why the party has not been behind him wholeheartedly is because of the fact that he is only a nominee of the all-powerful Ms Sonia Gandhi.

So even the UPA allies feel why should they go to a lesser god when the almighty herself is accessible. Some analysts feel that there is reason this time for Mr Singh to assert himself. He has attached too great a value to the deal that he thinks would be a turning point in India's history.

But unfortunately for him not many in his party concur; at least they will not venture to take such a definitive stance. As for his allies, the deal does not square with their agenda.

Why Mr Singh has staked his job on the deal may forever remain a mystery. Especially after he pushed the envelope too far last year and had to beat a hasty retreat. One possible explanation could be that Mr Singh is aware that this is his only chance at the top job and he must not miss the opportunity to leave a legacy.

He may genuinely believe that his deal with President Bush could open a new chapter in the emerging global scenario where the weight of the global economy is shifting more towards India and China. But six months later America is going to have a new President and no one can predict what he may decide about this deal.

Mr Singh's domestic critics, who are not Communists and fellow travellers, believe that the Prime Minister has got what is touted in the deal as 'the India exception' at a very high price, specifically the commitment not to conduct more nuclear tests. Mr Advani has clarified that he was not against developing India-US strategic relations but it cannot be at the expense of India foregoing the right to test if need be in the future.

Political analysts, therefore, point out that had Mr Singh sought to allay the concerns of the BJP in the last few months instead of begging the Marxists to relent, he could have got the deal through. But the Prime Minister and the Congress have refused to discuss the issue with the main Opposition party.

The communal propaganda of the Left should not go unnoticed either. Senior CPI(M) leader MK Pandhe has stated on record that the deal will not go down well with Muslims because they are opposed to President Bush. So, according to the Marxists a political step is good or bad for the nation not because of its consequence but because Muslims are opposed to it!

Marxists who claim to oppose 'communalism' are unabashed in promoting Muslim communalism. But what about the Congress? Is it too going to determine India's foreign policy by what a community thinks? Is the Congress giving Muslims the power to veto national politics?

It is simply following the policy of minority appeasement and then accusing others of being anti-minority. The decision to stake the country on the Muslim mood is a shocking outcome of the so-called secularism that some political parties pride in flaunting day and night. More than the deal itself, the events surrounding it have revealed the reality of the UPA's irrelevance. We do not have a Government in the strict sense of the term. We have a set-up that is beholden to and manipulated by the Left. This set-up has to follow policies dictated by the Left while its own economic and political philosophy asks it to do quite a different thing.

Therefore, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that this Government has no substantive achievements to speak of. But in a bid to gain popularity it has gone overboard with spending people's money on unproductive projects that has further fuelled inflation.

The UPA had to go through four-and-a-half-year of its term to realise that it has no commonality with the Left. From that angle it will be interesting to see how far Mr Singh is willing to go this time round.

Will the Congress choose to stand up and be counted and ask the people to get rid of the Left or will it continue to be led by its tail for the next six months because many within the party and its allies are afraid of facing the people? The latest development is said to be an appeal to the Congress president to save the Government and postpone the deal.

We should wait for Mr Singh will do in case Ms Gandhi accedes to this plea. His party has already once rejected his challenge to the Left. Will he accept such humiliation for a second time?

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, June 27, 2008