Mulford,Advani

New Delhi, Oct. 25: US ambassador David Mulford is believed to have reminded BJP leader L.K. Advani that the nuclear pact is “your deal, too”.

At a meeting between the two yesterday, sources said, Mulford was critical of the role the BJP also played in stalling the nuclear deal, considering the party had started the process when it was in power. “It is your deal, too,” a source quoted Mulford as telling Advani.

The ambassador told Advani that the BJP had hardly been critical of the deal over the last couple of years when it was being negotiated. But during the monsoon session of Parliament, by repeatedly stalling a debate on the deal, the BJP had indirectly played into the hands of the Left parties. In reply, the sources said, Advani told Mulford that he felt bad about the way the events have played themselves out.

US diplomats would not say anything on the Mulford-Advani meeting other than describing it as “encouraging”.’ Analysts said Mulford’s meeting was meant to create some sort of a political consensus on the deal. The sources said Mulford was encouraged by Advani’s about-turn during the monsoon session on the deal and on India’s relations with the US. Advani had said that whatever differences had arisen over the deal, India should continue to have good relations with the US.

For the Americans, the “dream scenario” will be the formation of “a right-wing coalition of the willing” in which the BJP will support the Congress if the matter comes to a vote in Parliament.

Many backers of the deal within the Congress will not be averse to such a scenario, which is why former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra has, over the last couple of years, been part of a back-channel dialogue with the government.

The problem with the “dream scenario” is that Congress president Sonia Gandhi will never allow her party to cut a deal with the BJP, especially not on the eve of elections in Gujarat.