CPM serves privilege notice against PM

NEW DELHI: An unrelenting CPM may be casting the dye in its relations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: the former ally on Thursday served a notice of privilege against Mr Singh for ���breach of parliamentary trust��� on the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Parliament session begins on Friday.

Recalling the prime minister���s speech made in Lok Sabha during the July 22 trust vote, the CPM said that he ���violated the promise��� to Parliament to get back to it before operationalising the nuclear deal. ���This is breach of parliamentary privilege. The deal has already been operationalised,��� sources said adding that the notice was issued by CPM MPs Basudeb Acharia and Rupchand Pal citing Rule 222 under which a member can seek moving of a privilege motion. It is now left to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to take a call on the matter.

The prime minister, who had entered the House showing a ���V��� sign on the morning of July 21 before the debate began, had said the trust vote was fully avoidable as he had assured Parliament he would return to it before operationalising the deal. ���I have repeatedly assured all, including Left parties, that I myself would come to the guidance of Parliament before operationalising the nuclear deal, if we were allowed to go to IAEA to finalise the India-specific safeguards agreement),��� Mr Singh had said.

The CPM can expect handsome backing from the Opposition, which is equally angry with the way the government went ahead with the nuclear deal. The BJP has already said that it would force a debate on the nuclear deal in Parliament.
The decision of the CPM to take on Mr Singh comes in the backdrop of CPM���s plans to mount an aggressive campaign against the Congress in the coming months. The party, which has ruled out any political association with the Congress after the general election, is now willing to back Ms Mayawati���s bid for the top post.

The CPM���s relations with the prime minister is in any case considerably strained following Mr Singh���s attempts to blame the present leadership for the division in the anti-NDA side. Mr Singh neither spares an opportunity to sing paeans to the ���sagacity, wisdom and visionary leadership��� of CPM veterans like Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet in forging the UPA.