Winning trust a long, nerve-wracking experience

LONG DAY: The day saw heated debates, a parade of cash for votes and a haphazardly conducted vote.

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Keywords: Trust Vote, Upa

New Delhi: The verdict that emerged after the bloody battle was that UPA Governmnet won the trust vote - not by one or two, but by an incredible 19 votes.

The Indo-US Nuclear Deal was through and the man of the moment, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh could be seen beaming, relishing the victory and his Government's survival

"I am grateful to all members of the coalition and I want to tell the world that India has its head and heart in the right place," he said after the UPA won the trust vote.

But the day was long and nerve-wracking. There were passionate arguments, suddenly ruptured by BJP MPs rushing to the well of the House and dumping crores of rupees there, alleging that the Samajwadi Party had tired to bribe them for abstentions.

It was a disgraceful moment for Indian democracy and for a moment it seemed that the trust vote may not happen.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, convened an all-party meeting and Parliament resumed once more, only to be adjourned again.

Even the Prime Minister was not allowed to speak and he quietly handed over the text of his speech to the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha - a loss in a day of intense drama, for even Manmohan Singh had passionate points to make.

In the end, teh UPA won the trust vote, but with a new coalition that was already looking fragile and with the shameful images of bribery charges of national television to haunt them in the coming days.