Arati R Jerath

New Delhi: The ruling UPA-Left combine put up a brave show of unity at its fourth anniversary dinner on Thursday and to complete the effect, welcomed friend-turned-foe Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party back into its fold with full fanfare.

Amar Singh’s entry was the high point of an otherwise tepid affair and the SP leader, who had waited four years for an invitation to a UPA gathering, delighted the media by playing to the gallery.

“This is a reinforcement of the old and warm rapport between me and the PM,” he declared with a beatific smile at Manmohan Singh who was sitting to his right. The PM nodded sagely.

“In politics, one always hopes for better times to come,” he said in reply.

The show of warmth and friendship was somewhat spoiled by Sonia Gandhi’s cold shoulder. She showered CPI(M) leaders Prakash and Brinda Karat with smiles but swept right past Amar Singh without saying a word. Clearly, the Congress-SP honeymoon has not yet started officially.

Still, Amar Singh’s presence brightened the somber mood at the dinner, if only as a buck-me-up for the Congress, which has been feeling rather unwanted lately after a string of electoral defeats.

By turning up, Amar Singh signaled that his party has not written off either the Congress or the UPA.

“We are ready to do business with them,” he said.

Congress leaders, however, didn’t seem to share his optimism. Many of those present at the dinner have already started looking past the government and see an insecure future for themselves in the current political climate.

“Take a good look. You may not see these faces here next year,” said a Congress leader with a wry smile.

They didn’t seem impressed with the PM’s laundry list of achievements. And Gandhi’s compliment to PM for giving the government

“vision and direction” drew only faint applause.

Singh refused to rate his government’s performance, having burnt his fingers with the mediocre 6/10 rating he gave it at the end of his first year in office. When asked what he considered to be his main achievement in four years, he said simply, “Giving an accountable government.”

Source : DNA