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Hectic parleys on nuclear deal

NEW DELHI: Amid efforts to keep both the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) arrangement alive, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said there was no improvement or deterioration on the deal.

Mr. Mukherjee made the remark after an evening meeting with Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat.

While reiterating the Left parties’ opposition to the deal, Mr. Karat is learnt to have told Mr. Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony that the government should not go to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) without the approval of the UPA-Left joint committee on the deal.

Mr. Karat told the Ministers that the committee – set up to discuss the problems arising out of the provisions of the Hyde Act and its impact on the 123 Agreement, as well as India’s foreign policy – had not arrived at its findings. Therefore, the government should not proceed any further with the deal.

The Congress, while stressing the need to maintain the coalition with the Left parties, echoed the oft-repeated comment of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the UPA was not a “one issue government.”

The party’s reiteration came just hours after Mr. Karat quoted Dr. Singh’s comment.

While expressing the hope that the UPA government would last its full term, Mr. Karat said at a seminar that serious efforts were on in this direction.

“The Prime Minister had some time back said that this is not a one-issue government. I hope it will last its full term,” he said without referring to the stand-off.

In the morning, Mr. Karat met Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar. Mr. Pawar supports the deal but favours addressing the concerns of the Left.

Mr. Mukherjee also met Communist Party of India national secretary D. Raja.

Ahead of their meetings with Mr. Mukherjee, the two Left leaders met to take stock of the situation arising out of the urgency shown by the government to take the draft of the India-specific safeguards agreement to the IAEA Board of Governors.

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed echoed the views of the UPA constituents.

“The deal is in the national interest. The Left parties have some reservations and we should carry them along with us.”

As to whether the party was diluting its position on the deal and not backing the Prime Minister on the issue, the answer was in the negative.

Mr. Ahmed pointed out that party president Sonia Gandhi herself had pitched for it in Guwahati last week.

Dwelling on the UPA-Left tie-up, party leaders sought to point out that it was not easy for the Left parties – particularly the CPI(M) – to support the Congress as the two parties were in direct fight with each other in the three Left-ruled States. “This is their magnanimity.”

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