There are some (young) people in BJP 100% for deal: Rahul

MICS - India By Shekhar Kulshreshtha

Deal Says if Govt falls acting in national interest, so be it

JAYAS (AMETHI), JULY 16: Praising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “vision, tenacity and leadership” on the Indo-US nuclear deal, AICC general secretary and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi today said the deal was worth the risk and “desh hit mein sarkar gir jaye to gir jaye (if the government falls while acting in national interest, so be it)”. He, however, expressed confidence that the government would win the trust vote in Parliament on July 22.

Gandhi took the battle over the deal into the heart of the BJP when he said “there are people in BJP and other parties who are 100 per cent for the deal.”

“I have spoken to many young leaders across parties. They support the deal and are convinced about it. They say they don’t understand why their leadership is opposed to it,” he told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to his constituency.

“The parties that are opposing the deal also know that it is good for the country. Right-thinking persons say this is an exceptional deal. Every youth appreciates this deal. The deal is being opposed only because of ideological points or political compulsions.”

Describing the nuclear deal as key to India’s energy needs and future development, Gandhi praised Singh for his decision to go ahead with the deal even if it meant risking his own government.

“Kabhi risk lena parta hai, government ko risk hai. Desh hit mein sarkar gir jaye to gir jaye (Sometimes one has to take a risk, there is a risk to the government. If the government falls while acting in national interest, so be it).”

“This is the right thing to do. This (deal) is important for the future of India. Take the risk again and again... if it is in the national interest,” he said. “Our Prime Minister has decided what is in the national interest.”

Gandhi said the Left parties were opposed the deal due to political or ideological compulsions but “if we are convinced that it is in national interest, we have to press ahead with it”.

He drew a parallel between the current situation and the time when his father Rajiv Gandhi introduced computers in the country. “I remember I was a child and my father was talking about computers and new technology in the telecom sector. There were people who ridiculed the computer. They would ask computer se kisan ko kya faida hoga (how will farmers benefit from a computer?),” he said. “Now the computer is used everywhere. It has changed the entire country.”

He said it was incorrect to say that nuclear energy can meet only three per cent of the energy requirement. “How do you say this?” he asked, adding that the deal would one day help meet 70 per cent of energy needs. “This is a big opportunity to become a major player in the field of nuclear industry.”

Asked whether the Congress alliance with the Samajwadi Party would continue even during the next elections, Gandhi said his party’s first concern was about the votes in Parliament.