The Hindu : New Delhi News : A transformed Manmohan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 19, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

A transformed Manmohan

Harish Khare

Controlled aggression, a game plan and application of technique At the outset he positioned himself in the Mahatma corner, quoting Gandhi's abiding injunction to wipe every tear from every eye, and declared himself a legatee of the Jawaharlal Nehru vision

NEW DELHI: Manmohan Singh has been Member of Parliament since 1991 but he had never been applauded as an exciting parliamentarian. And perhaps never before did he display as emotionally combative a streak as he did on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha in the debate on the controversial nuclear deal.

Before dealing with the doubts and questions about the India-United States Civilian Nuclear Agreement, the Prime Minister almost stumped the House with a kind of personal testimonial. Rather than conforming to his reputation as a shy and reticent person, and as a humdrum speaker, the Prime Minister spoke as a man who felt that his reputation and pride were being questioned.

It was a Virender Sehwag kind of performance — controlled aggression, a game plan and an application of sound technique. At the outset, he positioned himself in the Mahatma corner, quoting Gandhi's abiding injunction to wipe every tear from every eye, and declared himself a legatee of the Jawaharlal Nehru vision.

To those who questioned his professional competence to deal with so complicated an issue as the nuclear world, he asserted, "I have some experience" of dealing with economics and technology of nuclear business. He reminded the House that as member (finance) of the Atomic Energy Commission he has had worked with the distinguished nuclear professionals like H.N. Sethna and P.K. Iyengar.

And then, a bit of working philosophy. Status quo is always comfortable, but the challenge lies in breaking out of familiar terrain, and to cope imaginatively and confidently with "uncertainty." He talked of all the names and epithets that were hurled in his direction when he induced the post-1991 paradigm shift in the economy. He was no stranger to the name-calling game; he seemed to be telling his critics but told the House that he felt he stood vindicated by history of last 15 years.

Dr. Singh recalled the insightful observation of T.T. Krishnamachari of "tigers on the prowl" in New Delhi and added, somewhat challengingly, that he had nothing to fear from the new tigers, scenting blood.

In an unusual personal touch, the Prime Minister reminded everyone that he was born in a poor family and had the blood of freedom fighters in his veins. He conceded that while he was a latecomer to the world of politics, he belonged to a party that had a proud heritage of having brought freedom to the country.

As the Congress benches repeatedly applauded him, Dr. Singh promised that he would do his best to promote and protect "the vital interests of the country." In an unusually emotional pitch, Dr. Singh told the parliamentarians that he was in the "service of India".

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