Political parties supporting and opposing the ruling congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) strives hard to garner in much support for the show of confidence in the floor of the house slated for July 22.
New Delhi, July 19 : Political parties supporting and opposing the ruling congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) strives hard to garner in much support for the show of confidence in the floor of the house slated for July 22.
With the fate of the government dependent on Tuesday's confidence vote, mudslinging and deal-making are in full swing and even sullying the relatively clean image of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Dr. Singh was forced to call a confidence vote after his communist allies withdrew their support for the government to protest a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.
The ruling UPA believes the government will survive the vote after securing support of the Samajwadi Party. The vote is essentially between a ruling Congress party coalition and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the communists.
"We have to save the government and it is our national duty. Today if Advani and Prakash Karat comes together to dislodge the government, you think we will welcome them, we will of course fight them," Anand Sharma, Congress member and also Minister of State for External Affairs told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister and chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Lalu Prasad Yadav has assured the support of its 24 MPs in the parliament to the congress led alliance.
"We have 24 MP's of the RJD in Lok Sabha. Except for three, rest all are present here. Shahbuddinji, Pappu Yadav has got permission from court and both of them will come on Monday. Lastly, Sitaram Yadav in Sitamarhi, had a court hearing today so these three people could not attend the meeting today. There is no doubt we will not get the majority we are now over 291," said Lalu Prasad.
On the other hand Communists, the former ally of the government said they are in talks with smaller parties to garner in support against the government in the trust vote.
"We are in agreement that all those political parties who are opposed to nuclear deal, who are opposed to government...will have to work together, and we are confident that we can go against the government at the time of vote of confidence and we can defeat the government. We are in touch with all those parties who are opposed to the nuclear deal," D. Raja, senior leader of the Communist Party of India.
Meanwhile the congress party said that in no means is BJP in a position to consolidate their strength."We know weakness and differences of BJP, Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). It's all known to everybody and they are bound to be some absentees, and that means they are not in a position to consolidate their strength," said Veerappa Moily, senior Congress leader.
If the government loses, early elections will be called and a civilian nuclear deal with the United States, over which the government's communist allies withdrew support, could be buried.
The government needs to reach the 271 mark in the 543 member Lok Sabha to win the vote.
The nuke deal, which has been clouded in controversy but gives India access to the U.S. nuclear fuel and technology, is potentially worth billions of dollars to the U.S. and European nuclear supplier companies and would give India more energy alternatives to drive its development.
ANI