The operationalisation of the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal has been put on hold till the UPA-Left committee on the issue gives its findings.
UPA partners soften stand, but Left continues to maintain hard line
NEW DELHI: The logjam over the Indo-US nuclear agreement continued with the Left sticking to its stand that the deal must be frozen.
The UPA agreed to avoid “operationalising” the deal till the findings of the 15-member UPA-Left nuclear committee submitted its findings.
After a two-hour meeting on Monday, the committee decided to meet again on November 16.
There was a suggestion to advance the winter session of Parliament - usually commencing from the third week of November – to discuss the nuke issue, but no decision was taken.
Sonia Gandhi’s trip to China, the upcoming elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, and the intervening holidays (Chhat and Diwali) will make it difficult to convene a short session immediately.
The BJP will have to be consulted and, moreover, the date will have to be approved by the Speaker.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tough talk - and speculation that an upset Singh may quit on the eve of the panel meeting - appeared to have had some effect on key allies.
RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and DMK leader TR Baalu pleaded with the Left to let the government start talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) while the committee continued its deliberations.
“Look at the deal from all perspectives. The deal is good,” Pawar told the comrades. Laloo and Baalu also argued that there was no harm in starting negotiations.
An adamant Left, however, stuck to its guns, arguing that the deal was not in the interests of the country.
“After we explained to them the perils of the nuclear agreement, they (Pawar, Laloo Baalu) saw our point and told committee convenor Pranab Mukherjee to address our concerns,” said a senior Left leader after the meeting.
With certain Left leaders attacking the Prime Minister for his “contradictory” statements over the nuke deal, Mukherjee sought to allay the fears of the comrades and put the record straight.
He read out the recent statements and interviews of the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi on the nuclear deal and said they did not say anything contradictory.
The Left was told that the government cannot give any written statement to say that the deal is dead as it would result in an embarrassment at the international level.
The comrades agreed, and did not insist on “a written, categorical statement” from the government. After the meeting, the Left leaders said “we are convinced that the government will not operationalise the deal.”
Mukherjee had earlier pleaded with the Left to allow the government to start negotiations with the IAEA as the deal was “in the best interests of the country.”
He said: “We are not going to operationalise the deal. It is a coalition government, we understand your concerns, and we have to address them, but allow us to start talks”.
But the Left did not budge, arguing about the definition of “operationalisation”.
“We are not putting pressure on the Prime Minister. We are only pressing him and the government to do a lot of work under the Common Minimum Programme. The heavens won’t fall if the 123 (nuclear) agreement is kept on hold,” said a senior Left leader.
The comrades told the government to take a political decision.
“The UPA and the Left leadership will have to take a political decision. We have to solve this tangle. It is not a technical issue, but a political one,” he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}