Stand-off on nuke deal continues

NEW DELHI: The stand-off on the nuclear deal appears to show no signs of resolution with the Left parties on Monday likely to restate their opposition to implementation of the agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with the United States.

The four Left parties -- CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc -- are meeting here in the evening to consider the ruling UPA coalition's stand that the government was not in a position to put the deal on hold.

Sources said the Left parties were unlikely to budge from their stand that the government should not go ahead with implementing the 123 agreement with the US and take the follow up steps on safeguards with the IAEA and the NSG.

The evening meeting is likely to come out with a fresh statement telling the government that there was no question of reconsidering their stand on the opposition to the deal, the sources said.

They said the parties were also unimpressed with the idea of a committee to go into the Left concerns as some sort of a mechanism to work out a compromise.