With time running out on the nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made a last-ditch effort at forming a consensus appealing to his predecessor Atal Behari Vajpayee to “listen to the call of his conscience” and back the deal by rising above party politics.

Replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, the Prime Minister surprised the BJP when he reached out to Vajpayee over the party’s head. Calling him the “Bhishma Pitamah (the grand patriarch) of Indian politics,” he went on to praise Vajpayee for his “courageous” steps to promote peace with Pakistan.

“The most courageous steps to build peace were taken by Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Atal Behari Vajpayee. We have continued the process with President Musharraf,” he said.

Asking the BJP to have a rethink on its opposition on the nuclear deal, the Prime Minister said, “Recently, I read with keen interest an interview of Brajesh Mishra, National Security Advisor to the NDA government.

“I was happy to see that, responding to the call of conscience, he has openly supported the nuclear deal...Now I urge the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, to also listen to the call of his conscience and rise above narrow party interests to support the deal,” he said.

While the BJP benches looked taken aback by the Prime Minister’s appeal, they were visibly upset by Singh’s reference to former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott to make the point that the NDA could have settled for less on the nuclear deal.

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