National

Karat declines to speculate on mid-term poll

New Delhi: CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday refused to speculate on mid-term election and said that his party was keen to get on with the joint committee’s work on the India-US nuclear deal.

“No, we have not talked about elections so far. I don’t want to speculate about elections and all that,” he told NDTV when asked about the possibilities of a snap poll.

“We are talking about examining the objections connected with the nuclear deal. Let us get on with that and then we will see,” Mr. Karat said.

Earlier participating in the Left campaign in Andhra Pradesh against the joint-naval exercises with the US, he warned the Government against becoming a “subordinate military ally” of the U.S. and asked it not to go ahead with the nuclear deal, but to abide by the majority opinion in the country.

“The India-U.S. nuclear deal along with the Defence Framework Agreement would make India a subordinate military ally of the United States,” he said. The Parliament should discuss the nuclear issue to “let the country know whether this government has any support on it.”

“That will be the best way to make sure that this deal is not proceeded with. How can a government go against the majority in Parliament,” Mr. Karat asked.

On Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s contention that India was conducting joint exercise with a number of countries, he said there could be no denying the fact that the Indian armed forces were getting “steadily interlocked” with the U.S. — PTI

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