India need not surrender its vital interests to America: Left

NEW DELHI: A day after UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi made a veiled attack on opponents of the Indo-US nuclear deal, Left parties on Monday hit back, saying that India need not surrender its 'vital interests' to America on the agreement.

"The Left parties categorically reiterate that the nuclear deal with the US is against the interests of India. Those who advocate the deal, should know that India is capable of developing nuclear energy primarily on a self-reliant basis," top Left leaders said in a statement here.
   
"We need not surrender our vital interests to America on this plea," CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI leader A B Brdhan, Forward Bloc's Deabrata Bisws and RSP's Abani Roy said in the statement.

The joint reaction of the Red brigade came a day after Gandhi obliquely attacked the Left, saying that "elements" opposing the nuclear agreement were not only 'enemies' of the Congress, but also of the nation's progress and development.