Even as the UPA mediators continued parleys with the Left parties, sources hinted that the govt is resigned to putting the deal in the freezer for the time being.
NEW DELHI: Even as the UPA mediators continued parleys with the Left parties to resolve the crisis arising out of Indo-US nuclear agreement, Left sources on Tuesday hinted that the government is resigned to putting the deal in the freezer for the time being. They also indicated that this was implicit in the government’s readiness to constitute a committee to address Left objections.
The Left has been insisting that when Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar visits Vienna to attend the IAEA annual body meeting, he should not the negotiate the deal officially. There are indications, however, that the Left may wink at “informal talks”.
Party general secretary AB Bardhan, who had talks with senior Congress leaders on Monday, said "I understand it is (Kakodkar discussing the deal) not in the agenda of IAEA." Bardhan had earlier discussed the contours of the political mechanism with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, defence minister AK Antony and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel.
On Monday, he said the CPI’s two-day national executive discussed the nuke issue and outlined five points for the consideration of the proposed political committee being set up to study the objections to the nuke deal.
The Congress team discussed the mechanism with RSP and Forward Bloc on Tuesday. While RSP chief Abani Roy was skeptical of the proposed committee, the other three parties including the Forward Bloc, CPI and the CPI(M) endorsed the move.
Sounding a discordant note, Roy asked what was the point in setting up such a panel when the Left was opposed to the Agreement. "What is the need for having a committee when we are opposed to the deal. Differences may persist even after it is formed."
He said the Left was dissatisfied with government’s performance on the domestic front also. The RSP usually toes big brother CPI(M) line and Left sources said its opposition to the committee did not matter.
The Congress interlocuters will now brief the party’s core group on their discussions with the four Left parties. Thereafter a meeting between the Left brass and the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson and Pranab Mukherjee is being arranged to institutionalise the mechanism.
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