Confident PM meets Prez, says floor test soon

CONFIDENT OF VOTE: Manmohan Singh told Pratibha Patil his Cabinet was ready to face a floor test.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday met President Pratibha Patil and is believed to have conveyed his wish to seek a trust vote at the earliest.

Date of summoning Lok Sabha will be communicated by Friday evening. The UPA expects to get the backing of 274 to 278 MPs in a House with an effective strength of 543.

Going for the kill

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique - issued after 30 minutes said - the Prime Minister stated he and his Cabinet colleagues are keen to seek a vote of confidence as early as possible.

"The precise date on which the Lok Sabha will be summoned for the purpose will be communicated to the President by the Prime Minister by tomorrow evening," it said ending speculation over whether the Government would wait for the opposition to move a no-confidence motion.

Amidst indication that the special session could be held anytime after July 22, small parties whose votes could be valuable in the trial of strength that is expected to be a touch-and-go-affair.

This is the first time since 1989 – the year that heralded coalition politics in the country - when a Prime Minister is seeking a trust vote after four years in office.

The Prime Minister's meeting with Patil was preceded by a meeting of Congress Core group at his residence in which party President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also among those present.

The Parliamentary strategy to be adopted in the wake of Left's withdrawal was believed to have been discussed in the meeting.

Earlier on Thursday, the Prime minister met US ambassador David Mulford. He had met the envoys of member states of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group on Wednesday and sought their support for the nuclear accord.

Coming under attack from the opposition and its estranged Left allies over the flip-flop on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) India-specific safeguards pact, the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) made clear earlier in the day that it was ready to face Parliament.

The Government was severely criticised for approaching the IAEA board of governors on Wednesday to finalise the India-specific safeguards pact, a day after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced that the step would be taken only after winning the floor test in the Lok Sabha.

Capping a day of hectic political activities, Singh, who returned from Japan in the small hours of the day, drove to Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7.15 PM and met President Pratibha Patil to convey his desire to seek a trust vote, a demand made by the four Left parties and opposition BJP-led NDA.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique issued after a 30-minute said, the Prime Minister stated that "he and his cabinet colleagues are keen to seek a vote of confidence as early as possible.”

Trust and deception

While the Bharatiya Janata Party termed it a "midnight deceit", the CPI-M-led Left parties said it was "expected".