With the number game becoming nerve wracking, RJD leader Lalu Prasad yesterday oozed confidence that the UPA government will win a confidence vote in Parliament, saying "everything has been arranged.""The government is safe....If it were not so, I would not be in Patna. Everything has been arranged for (victory) and the Manmohan Singh government will prove its majority in the House despite the best efforts of the Opposition to pull it down," the relaxed Railway Minister said on the fate of the government after the Left withdrew support.
Cordial relations
Despite the Left pulling the rug, RJD's relations with them would be "as smooth and cordial as ever."
"Char saal pehle humey tumse pyaar tha, aaj bhi hai aur kal bhi rahega," (we were in love four years ago, and so we will be today and tomorrow), he said referring to the super-hit Hindi film song, humey tum se pyaar tha.
"The UPA government will last its full term and elections will be held on time in April. The people will give a befitting reply to the communal forces trying to grab power through the back door," said Lalu, whose RJD with 24 MPs in the Lok Sabha is the largest non-Congress UPA constituent in the House.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram also shared Lalu's confidence when he said the Government will win the trust vote in the Lok Sabha and ruled out early polls.
Polls on schedule
"We strongly believe we have the support. Elections will be held as per schedule, i.e, by April or May 2009," he said in Chennai.
"The country is not going to surrender its sovereignty by going to IAEA as being projected by the Opposition parties," Lalu said.
Lalu said the nuclear deal is in the interest of the nation as it offered scope for generating cheap power.
