New zest for reforms after govt wins vote

Prithviraj Chauhan, the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office and a member of the core team to manage the majority today on the floor of the Lok Sabha for his government, told rediff.com, " We are confident of winning. We have the numbers in our favour."

He was confident and composed as if waiting for "liberation" from the Communists.

Importantly, he said, "Once we win the vote we will go ahead with our economic agenda. What all we were

not able to do in economic reforms because of the constraints put up by the Left allies we will do it now."

When asked about Pakistan's proposed move for a vote in the Nuclear Suppliers Group on an India-specific pact Chavan said, "We always said that we have many hurdles to cross. It's not easy to pass through the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and NSG."

He added that if the government wins Tuesday's vote in the Lok Sabha, " America will pick up the nuclear agreement with a renewed vigour at the NSG."