Agencies Posted online: Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 1332 hours IST Updated: Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 1744 hours IST
New Delhi, August 18: The Left parties put brakes on the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal by warning the government of ‘serious consequences’ of operationalising it, but stopped short of withdrawing support to the UPA coalition.
Turning up the heat on the government, the CPM Politburo passed a resolution describing the deal as ‘unacceptable’ and demanding that the government should not proceed further on it by commencing negotiations with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA for safeguards which would bind India in perpetuity.
The blunt message was conveyed directly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the main architect of the deal, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat at an hour-long meeting at the Prime Minister's residence.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was also present.
Asked whether the Left parties would withdraw support to the government if it went ahead with the deal, Karat told a press conference, "we have conveyed to the Congress leadership our concerns and it depends on what they decide."
He drew attention to the Politburo resolution stating that, ‘it is for the Congress leadership to decide on the matter which will have serious consequences for the government and the country’.
Karat summed up the Left stand in these words: "So, we are saying don't proceed (with the deal), discuss the matter, take into account all the objections and concerns and then we can take a decision."
The Left parties want the government to ‘pause’ and look at all the aspects before going into the next steps such as negotiations with the IAEA and with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The Politburo resolution fully endorsed the stand taken by the Left parties on the bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation with the US, remarking that the statement of the Left parties (last week) has set out comprehensively the reasons why the agreement is not acceptable.
It said the agreement should be seen in the light of the Hyde Act passed by the US Congress and in the context of the wider implications of India being bound into a strategic alliance with the US and its adverse consequences for an independent foreign policy, sovereignty and the economic interests of the people.
"The Politburo is of the firm opinion that going ahead with this agreement will not serve India's interests. Given the widespread opposition to the agreement and the fact that a majority in Parliament do not support the nuclear cooperation deal, the government should not proceed further with the agreement," the resolution said.
It said till all the objections were considered and implications of the Hyde Act evaluated, the government should not take the next step with regard to negotiating a safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
The Politburo also decided to take the issue of the nuclear agreement and the dangers of the strategic alliance with the United States to the people through a nationwide mass campaign.
Karat said the Left parties will be meeting soon to decide on all other related matters.
Asked whether an emergency meeting of the party's Central Committee would be convened shortly, he said, "we will call a meeting if we feel it is necessary. We will wait for the Congress response".
Asked in the context of Prime Minister's challenge to them to withdraw support whether he had suggested to him to quit, Karat said "I have not suggested anything. I have suggested don't take the next step."
Maintaining that the government was aware of the strong reservations on the deal by a majority in Parliament, he said, "the democratic way will be to put on hold the agreement till the doubts and apprehensions are clarified."
The agreement ‘should not be seen as a narrow party issue. It concerns the entire country and it is going to be a long-term agreement and we are going to have safeguards in perpetuity’, he said.
The CPM views on any strategic alliance with the US were well-known, he said, "but more important than that on foreign policy, we told the Congress leadership that they have historically played a role on having a consensus on foreign policy".
"Unfortunately, on the implications of the nuclear agreement and its consequences on foreign policy, there is no consensus," the CPM leader said.
He said in the past the CPM has strongly supported government's independent foreign policy. "So we have urged the Congress leadership to seriously consider what our Politburo has said and we hope they will discuss the matter and take an appropriate decision and get back to us. We have to wait for their decision".
Acknowledging that the 123 agreement has been made, he said, "but two-three more steps are required to oeprationalise it. We are saying don't operationalise it for now."
The Congress leadership went into a huddle shortly after Karat-PM meeting to assess the implications of the Left warning. The Core Group of Congress met in Prime Minister's official residence to chalk out the future strategy.
CPI leader D Raja made it clear that the level of Left cooperation will go down considerably from now on. "It is going to affect the coordination between the government and the Left. It is also going to affect legislations in Parliament since it will be merit-based support."
Before they met the Prime Minister and Gandhi, the CPM leaders held consultations with other Left parties to convey their united opposition to the deal.
The CPM has been of the view that the government has deviated from the Common Minimum Programme commitments of pursuing an independent foreign policy and was sharply critical of the Congress-led coalition for entering into a strategic partnership with ‘imperialist’ America.
Other Left parties are more strident in their demand for reviewing support to the government with CPI general secretary A B Bardhan saying that it has become ‘untenable’ and the Left should extend ‘merit-based’ support now.
He feels that the UPA-Left Coordination Committee, the mechanism so far being used for consultations on key issues, has become ‘dead’ and there is no point in carrying forward with it.
RSP leader Abani Roy said it is ‘high-time’ that the Left review its support to the government otherwise it will become a ‘laughing stock’ among the people.
Forward Bloc leader general secretary Debabrata Biswas, who met CPM leaders on Saturday morning, said, "it is crystal clear that after the 123 agreement was signed there has been a visible tilt in our foreign policy practices towards the US."
New Delhi, August 18: The Left parties put brakes on the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal by warning the government of ‘serious consequences’ of operationalising it, but stopped short of withdrawing support to the UPA coalition.
