After hectic efforts the Manmohan Singh government has managed to bring the main Opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, on board on the critical issue of supporting the civil nuclear liability bill, a key component of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's nuclear agenda and his efforts to deliver the law to the United States before President Obama comes calling in November.
But what is the cost of this support for the Congress is the question being asked by partymen.
Particularly in the wake of allegations levelled in Parliament against the Congress and the government by its one-time friends and allies, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, that the CBI has agreed to give a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in return for the BJP support.
A senior Congress leader said that the government failed to respond to these charges and there was no one from the treasury benches to deny the allegation or to put the record straight in Parliament, with the result that the two Houses of Parliament were repeatedly adjourned over the allegations and the government remained a mute spectator.
A Congress Working Committee member said that if the charge is correct, it could badly damage the Congress party amongst the Muslims, with the party having spent a number of years in winning them back into the fold and garnering their support.
Modi is a sore point with not only the Muslims but a large number of secular Hindus, said a party leader and added that the leadership should not take the issue lightly.
It is interesting that not only did the party
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