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NT Bureau
New Delhi, Oct 14:

 
        Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday made a tacit reference to the fate that awaited the nuclear deal with the US when he pointed out that it (deal) was not the be all and end of all of life.

        For a man, who made some strong pro-deal comments in an interview a few weeks back, this embarrassing volte-face must have been hard to take. But the question that is doing the rounds here is that what made Manmohan to surrender so meekly (even though his spin masters are suggesting artlessly that he showed sagacity and flexibility in running the coalition).

        As ever the answer to the question lies in 10 Janpath, the residence of Congress head honcho Sonia Gandhi. Sources here indicate that Sonia was under immense pressure from the Congress' UPA allies —— chiefly the now vulnerable DMK and Lalu's RJD. Both these two regional party leaders have a good rapport with Sonia. Apparently both of them pointed to their problems if an election is called now.

        Sonia, whose party is too dependent on them for survival, had to finally acquiesce. Sonia, sources say, bluntly told Manmohan to back off from his aggressive posture on the deal. Though it was a bitter pill for him to take in public, the Prime Minister, who is now being taunted by the opposition as being the weakest premier ever, went ahead and did what his leader bid him to.

        But Sonia has considerably undermined Manmohan's authority and as one commentator put it 'reduced the Prime Minister to a cipher in public perception'.

        But quite unexpectedly, the obvious capitulation to the Left has sent a wave of demoralisation sweeping through the Congress, which was totally unprepared for the backtracking after being revved up to face a snap poll in February-March, sources added.

        Congress leaders here are looking glum and trying to pass off the climbdown as a 'strategic pause'.

        Sonia's hint of a Cabinet reshuffle with young faces being bunged in is not going to save the day for the Congress.

        Top leaders of the Congress here want Sonia to undertake a series of confidence-building exercises to boost the morale of the party men and resurrect the image of the PM.

        But the Left will doubtless play up its triumph. Sonia will however try to convince them of remaining silent at least for the now.

        Left leaders are holding their cards close to their chest but they have dropped enough hints about the criticality of the October 22 meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal.

        The last word on the issue is still to be spoken.