At a cabinet meeting on Christmas Eve, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to withdraw the home ministry’s proposal to impose President’s rule in Nagaland due to a difference of opinion among his colleagues attending the meeting. This, when Nagaland Governor K. Sankaranaraynan had categorically recommended imposition of President’s rule in the state due to a constitutional breakdown during a Congress-sponsored no confidence motion on December 13 against the Neiphiu Rio government. Even though Rio’s government was clearly in minority due to recent defections, the speaker of the assembly favoured the ruling alliance as he ruled that votes of defectors could not be counted, and thus the motion was defeated.

With the Left parties already opposed to the imposition of President’s rule in Nagaland, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed his apprehension on whether the government could get it ratified in Parliament if the Left and the BJP both voted against it. Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar joined hands with RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav and Lok Janashakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan to question the logic behind Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s move to impose President’s rule two months before the Nagaland Assembly completed its scheduled term. Faced with open dissension from the UPA allies and his senior cabinet colleagues, the proposal was indefinitely deferred by Manmohan Singh.

For trackers of politics at Raisina Hill, this decision is emblematic. After all, the Left’s veto, pressure from the allies to ward off early general elections and uncharacteristic opposition from the BJP have already combined to force Manmohan Singh to take one step forward and two steps back on the Indo-US nuclear deal. With the window on the passage of Indo-US nuclear deal in Washington closing by July 31, the uncertainty is mounting. Political reverses in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have added to the UPA government’s discomfiture, and as of today Manmohan Singh, perhaps, is the last man standing on the deal. And given the present mindset of the Congress leadership, the nuclear deal is the last thing on their minds.

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