Arati R Jerath & Kay Benedict

New Delhi: The Congress and Left have begun work on a common exit strategy from the nuclear controversy that has rocked the Manmohan Singh government for nearly three months.

The idea is to craft a formula that saves face for both by addressing Left objections to the nuclear deal while permitting the government to meet international commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

At one level, it’s an impossible task, given the widely differing perceptions of the Left and the Congress. But politics is the art of the possible and the warring allies will use the 25-day period leading up to the next meeting of the UPA-Left nuclear committee on November 16 to put their heads together to seek closure on the controversy.

The first step was to reach a political understanding to undo the damage caused by the PM’s public dare to the Left to pull out on the nuclear issue.

That has happened with Sonia Gandhi reaffirming her commitment to the coalition and getting the PM to toe the line.

"Once we have that kind of political understanding, it will not be difficult for us to work out a compromise formula to get out of this controversy,’’ said a Left leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The exact formula is a matter of negotiation and several proposals are being aired. But the next step is to arrange for a debate in Parliament so that there can be a formal closure.

For this, it is necessary to get Third Front parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Telugu Desam on board, and, of course, the BJP. The government has not forgotten that it was the SP that drowned out the PM’s statement on the nuclear agreement in the monsoon session.

The onus to get the Third Front parties on board has fallen on CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat who met Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday morning.

In the guise of discussing floor strategy for the winter session, Karat made a strong pitch with these leaders to allow Parliament to debate the nuclear deal and get the government to commit itself to stay within agreed guidelines while pursuing its stated goal of breaking out of the nuclear denial regime.A Telugu Desam source said there was broad agreement on the need for a debate.

While the BJP maintained on Tuesday that it had not applied its mind yet to the question of a Parliament debate on the nuclear question, there are strong indications that there is a rethink within the Right on the anti-US signals that the entire controversy has sent. This was reflected in former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra's recent interview to DNA.

He had suggested that "some of the opponents'' to the deal should rescue it so that Indo-US bilateral ties are not hit.

The government is likely to notify a short session, starting in mid-November, so that it can get the nuclear issue out of the way and get down to the more important business of fighting the Gujarat state assembly elections. Hours after holding talks with Karat, the Third Front or UNPA failed to come up with a concrete stand on the nuclear deal.

The alliance too tended to downplay the meeting with Karat. Its new spokesperson Amar Singh said, “On the Indo-US nuclear deal I have been in touch with comrade Prakash Karat earlier today and will also be in future.”

The front made a formal break with Tamil Nadu partner, the AIADMK,when it announced its secretariat minus Jayalalithaa. Samajwadi President Mulayam Singh was appointed chairman of the UNPA. Chandrababu Naidu was appointed convenor.

Source : DNA