Jatha flagged off as Left protest the joint naval excercise

KOLKATA: The Left parties will continue to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal even within the Centre-appointed committee that will look into the implications of the Hyde Act, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said on Tuesday.   

''The Government will set up a committee, but we shall oppose the deal there also. However, we are ready for any talks at the same time,'' he said while addressing a gathering of Left leaders and workers, setting out in a 'Jatha' for Vizag as a mark of protest against the Indo-US joint naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal. Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu flagged off the 'Jatha' at Park Circus in South Kolkata.

Headed by Bardhan, the 'Jatha' comprises 85 members from all the partners of the ruling Left Front.

CPI (M) Central Committee member Madan Ghosh and Forward Bloc MP Bir Singh Mahato were other leaders taking part in the journey.

In his address, Basu alleged that the nuke deal with America violates the Common Minimum Programme struck between the Congress-led UPA and the Left parties as the basis of an understanding between the two sides.

Travelling in a Volvo bus, the 'Jatha' members will reach Vizag on September 8 via Kharagpur in West Bengal, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in Orissa and Vizianagram in Andhra Pradesh.

Another 'Jatha' taken out by Left workers from Chennai, will converge with them at Vizag the same day.