AMETHI /NEW DELHI: All young MPs, including those in the opposition, were in favor of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Congress party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said here yesterday while declaring his “100 percent” support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the pact.

“All young Lok Sabha members even from the opposition, for instance the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), are crystal clear that the nuclear deal is in the country’s interest,” Rahul told reporters during a visit to his parliamentary constituency.

The 38-year-old Congress MP added that he had not come across a “single youngster,” even in opposition parties, who opposed the nuclear deal — that led to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government being reduced to a minority with the Left parties withdrawing their support.

According to him, parties opposed to the deal had divisions within themselves.

Expressing his faith in Singh, he said: “One has to take risks in life; if the government falls (in the Parliament floor test), so be it.”

Describing the prime minister as an “upright leader” with vision, the young Congress leader said he was acting in the interests of the nation.

“If something is (done) in the interest of the people, numbers do not matter... Sometimes the government has to take a risk to achieve a milestone.”

The Congress-led UPA government faces a crucial floor test in the Lok Sabha July 22 to prove its majority in the wake of the withdrawal of support by its erstwhile Communist allies.

The Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, is keeping a constant vigil on the coalition-flock being together for the crucial vote. All the UPA MPs have been asked to be in the capital by July 20.

Playing down reports over differences within the Congress over the prime minister’s stand on the nuclear deal, he said: “Senior leaders are convinced that if the prime minister has taken a decision, it is the right one.”

Rahul, who is in charge of the student and youth wings of the Congress, also said that Singh’s stand on the nuclear deal reminded him of his late father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s initiatives vis-à-vis the IT revolution.

“I am proud of the prime minister as he has shown his tenacity, vision and leadership,” he said.

“Nuclear technology, be it even for the sake of producing electricity, is a must to make India a global power,” he insisted.

Discussing the situation in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said the state lagged behind other states in implementing central government schemes.

— With input from agencies