Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. (PTI)

Lucknow, July 16: In one of the most forceful arguments for the nuclear deal, Rahul Gandhi today said it was a “risk” worth taking for the benefit of the country and drew a parallel with his father’s dream of a computerised India which had then received similar condemnation from the Left.

Rahul, on a tour of his constituency Amethi, reiterated his praise for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and lauded him for demonstrating “extraordinary vision, tenacity and leadership” in his efforts to make the deal a reality at the risk of his own government.

Stating that he was extending “100 per cent” support to Singh, the Nehru-Gandhi scion said: “For ideological or political reasons the deal is being opposed. But the Congress has taken a decision which is correct. If something is in the interest of the people, numbers do not matter….

“Sometimes in life, risks have to be taken. The Prime Minister thinks it is in the interest of the country. If the government falls in the process, so be it.”

“So be it” is the phrase the Prime Minister used to dare the Left last August. It was also not lost on Delhi’s political number crunchers — busy tabulating the votes each side is believed to be commanding — that for the second time in less than a week, Rahul has spoken of the risk of the government falling.

Today, Rahul took a swipe at the Left, which has been virulently critical of the deal, and saw in the protests a strain similar to its opposition to his father Rajiv Gandhi’s vision of a computerised India.

Rahul recalled how the Left parties in the mid-eighties had stonewalled the introduction of computers in government offices on the ground that it would lead to massive retrenchment.

Rahul said the criticism faced by his father was “unjust and mischievous”, as he, like the Prime Minister now, had wanted to do some good for India. “Even then, everybody thought the move to introduce computers was ridiculous,” he said.

Ironically, the Left, which had spearheaded the campaign against computerisation, is now a firm believer in the benefits of technology. The CPM’s offices in New Delhi and elsewhere are fully computerised and most of its frontline leaders cannot be parted from their laptops.

Rahul also made an appeal to Young India, saying he hoped the deal would have the backing of young MPs irrespective of party affiliation. “I am sure all young Lok Sabha members, even those from the Opposition, are convinced that the nuclear deal is in the country’s interest,” he said.