UPA hopes alive for nuclear deal

Left parties went a step ahead on Thursday and started talking something positive on nuclear deal ahead of the Left-UPA panel's meeting on nuclear deal scheduled for June 18, which is a good sign for the UPA government. It led the UPA feel that the hope is still alive for the nuclear deal. However, Left is still stagnant and reiterating its opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

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CPI (M) leader and the Politburo member, Sitaram Yechury stated that the Left was not against the safeguard agreement with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) rather it had and still has its objection to the 123 Agreement with US and the Hyde Act.

“Our objection is not with the IAEA. It is with the 123 Agreement, which according to us is very deeply anchored in the Hyde Act,” said Yechury, who is also a member of the UPA-Left Committee formed to sort out the problem on nuclear deal. Hyde Act, for us, has many objectionable features and is not acceptable in respect of India's sovereignty.

Everything depends on the government's initiative whether it disrupts the safeguards agreement from the 123 Agreement. But he refused to speak his mind if the government becomes ready to accept the Left's proposal. Instead of any concrete answer he said, “Let them say first. Everything depends on what the government says on June 18.”

The joint committee of the UPA-Left on the nuclear deal is scheduled to meet on June 18. June 18 convention is being expected crucial for the UPA government. More or less it would decide the future course of action whether the government get the green signal from Left, which looks impossible in present circumstances, to go ahead with the IAEA or else go alone with the agreement.

It could be disastrous for the Congress as the CPI-M on Thursday warned the government of withdrawal of support if it goes ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal. “We would be left with no other option but to withdraw support if the UPA government goes ahead with the deal,” Yechury said to reporters.

Yechury's comment was in response to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday's statement making before the Indian Foreign Service Probationers at his residence, where he had expressed hope that the Indo-US nuclear deal would see the light of day despite domestic problems, indicating the stern opposition from Left and BJP.

New Delhi has concluded negotiations for the safeguards agreement in March this year with the IAEA, but it needs the approval of the UPA-Left committee before signing it.