Operation Distrust Vote

Enemies outside who wanted the PM to go. Enemies inside who wanted the PM to go.
A Congress-BJP mix-up. Wads of cash, Amar Singh, and a sting operation which was never aired. Here's the inside story of the Trust Vote

HARDNEWS BUREAU DELHI

IN HIS PROVOCATIVE speech that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh never delivered during the trust vote, he hurled some damaging allegations against BJP leader LK Advani. Shooting from his hip, he claimed that Advani, acting on the advice of his astrologers, had tried to overthrow his government in the past. He claimed of three such attempts.
As his speech was written much earlier and directed only at his saffron opponents, he did not mention the machinations going on within his own party to throw him out. He also did not talk about how the bribery scandal was meant to be used by the opposition parties to stall the trust vote and force the dissolution of the House and prove that his government had failed to prove a majority. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee emerged as a saviour of the government when he forced the vote despite reservations expressed by the BJP and the Left.
These strenuous efforts by his detractors notwithstanding, Singh managed to emerge triumphant. Hardnews investigations reveal how ‘Operation Overthrow Manmohan Singh' did not succeed. Besides the money and muscle that the government has at its disposal, the support that the US government provided to the prime minister tilted the balance in his favour. Hardnews learns that the US government knew exactly about the margin of the UPA's victory in Parliament. But before he could succeed by using every trick in the business, there were some anxious moments for him.

OPERATION OVERTHROW: PART 1
Manmohan Singh did not reveal to anyone that he would give a go-ahead to his officers to negotiate an India-specific safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). His on-board press meet revealed his intentions that he would be going ahead. The Left took this as a cue to withdraw support from the government. In the interim, Pranab Mukherjee made it categorical that they would not go to the IAEA till the government wins the trust vote. Mukherjee's announcement, it is learnt, took the prime minister by surprise.
During his meeting with US President George W Bush, a normally impassive Singh was found to be in good mood. It was after this meeting, sources claim, that the IAEA was fast-tracked. While the country was still unaware of the status of India's request with the IAEA, US Ambassador David Mulford had already called a meeting of ambassadors of those countries that are members of the IAEA to lobby for India. It was only a day later that it became clear that the fears of the Left parties were not really unfounded about Singh coinciding his trip to Japan to approach the Vienna-based IAEA.
The prime minister and Mukherjee's divergence could not be reconciled till the trust vote. There is a view that the foreign minister had made a commitment to go for a trust vote at the behest of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was not keen on a rupture with the Left parties and the collapse of the government.
When the prime minister returned from Japan, he found that save for the support extended by the Samajwadi Party (SP), the UPA did not have enough numbers. Worse, SP members were aggressively being poached upon by UP Chief Minister Mayawati. Manmohan Singh is believed to have told a supporter that the government has to prove its majority, but he cannot see anyone in the party trying to do that. Informed sources claim Singh feared that a section within the party may use this confusion over an unpopular deal to topple him. It was brought to his notice that party leaders were telling the Congress president that she should not insist on the nuclear deal and focus more on inflation.
The endeavour was to tell the Congress president that if Manmohan Singh was changed the government could survive. Discretely, names of leaders who could stitch together a majority, such as Pranab Mukherjee and Sharad Pawar, were dropped. The nuclear deal, if it had to be signed, could be negotiated by the next government. She was told that the Left parties would come back to support anyone except Singh. Many believe that the Left withdrew support to hasten this change.
The Congress president dithered on this issue for a few days, till Singh met her and explained to her the implications of the defeat of the UPA on the floor of the House. Interestingly, Singh got the support of Rahul Gandhi, who explained to her mother why the nuclear deal and the prime minister were important. It was only after this meeting that Sonia pulled out all stops and began to mobilise support for the government. Meetings with Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh ensued. Digvijay Singh, Arjun Singh and Vyalar Ravi were deployed to bring in small parties and independents. Sharad Pawar, soft towards Americans, was tapped. After great effort, the UPA managed to get the numbers. But there was little clarity what the margin would be till they got the feelers from a section of the BJP that they could help in saving the government. Many believe that LK Advani's address, which lacked conviction, was a giveaway. It was clear that the BJP was not keen on bringing down the government. Their support for the deal became more obvious after Mayawati began to oppose the deal and joined hands with the Left parties. The BJP's dilemmas were also heightened by the reports that they were getting from the ground that upper-caste urban middle-class Indians were ecstatic about the deal and strategic partnership with the US.

OPERATION OVERTHROW: PART 2
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership realised they were drawing flak for looking feeble and listless in Parliament on the first day of the trust vote. Their conduct was reinforced by Mayawati's allegations that they were mixed up with the Congress. Informed sources claim that a senior BJP leader told a television channel head about overtures made by UPA managers to wean away BJP MPs before the vote. The TV channel head agreed to do a sting operation on the pay-offs. As reported in newspapers, the money was organised allegedly by the Congress president's secretary, Ahmed Patel and SP leader Amar Singh. A person close to Amar Singh reportedly handed over the money to the MPs. The deal between the TV channel and the BJP top brass was that the transaction between the MPs and the fixers would be telecast on TV while Parliament was going on. During this time, the MPs were to carry the cash to Parliament and bring the House down. Deliberately, they chose a time when the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee would be resting and his deputy, Atwal, would be on the chair.
However, the TV channel developed cold feet and as the cash was being brandished crudely in Parliament, there was nothing on TV. Advani, who was to lead a walkout from Parliament after the sting operation was aired, sat waiting in his chamber. According to informed sources, Left parties were also sounded about the sting operation through an editor of a media organisation and they were also expected to march to President Pratibha Patil and demand that the House be dissolved and UPA government dismissed as it had failed to win the trust vote.
According to sources close to the Speaker, "the attempt of the BJP and the Left parties was to stall the trust vote and demand the dissolution of the House." Speaker Chatterjee called an all-party meeting where he demanded from Advani as to how he could allow his party MPs to carry money to the Lok Sabha. Advani, on the back foot, had no answer, allowing Chatterjee to force everyone to agree to go through the trust vote. The rest was history.