New Delhi: The Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat has blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the current political crisis in the country over the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement.
In a strongly worded article in CPI-M's mouthpiece Peoples Democracy Karat wrote, "As the time for the ninth meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on the nuclear deal approached, the country was plunged into a political crisis once again on the future of the nuclear deal. What is the cause for this ongoing crisis? The answer lies squarely in the Prime Minister's renewed bid to go to the IAEA for seeking the approval of the Board of Governors on the text of the Safeguards Agreement."
On Wednesday, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Left had failed to reach a compromise on nuclear deal, following the meeting of the 15-member UPA-Left Nuclear Coordination Committee meeting at the residence of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
With the logjam over the nuclear deal continuing, speculations about an early General Election have also started.
And Karat's comments have come even as an internal report of the Congress said that rising prices are likely to be the main issue during the polls.
The Congress seems to be looking for other allies to stay afloat.
Party spokesperson, Jayanti Natarajan says, “There is always dialogue between various parties. Our stand on issues is always on principle and we always look for support for our stand. Our effort to continue to convince our allies in the Left are still on and we would like to bring as many people on board as possible.”
“Congress says we are open for negotiation and cooperation with all political parties on an issue, on which we have a strong stand,” says Jayanti.
The Left is insisting the government should not proceed with the talks with the IAEA.
Sitaram Yechury says, “Our position is clear. We don’t want the government to proceed with the nuclear Deal.”
Karat also said the schedule set by the US is "impelling the Prime Minister to go ahead regardless of the consequences".
He maintained that the urgency to approach the Board of Governors of IAEA "runs contrary" to the understanding arrived at in November 2007 between Congress and the Left leaderships that the government would go to the IAEA for talks but not proceed to get the Board's approval.
Karat said the reason for such urgency was "the insistence of the Bush Administration that India complete the procedures for the safeguards agreement with the IAEA so that the Americans can take the step of formally initiating the process in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to get the waiver for nuclear trade with India."
"The Bush administration knows very well that there is no time for the 123 Agreement to be passed by the current US Congress," he said.
By the time the NSG gives the waiver to the nuclear deal "it will be too late for the US Congress to consider and adopt the 123 law."
"President Bush wants to ensure in the last few discredited months of his presidency that at least the Indo-US nuclear deal will remain as a legacy to be taken up by the next President. This will have some certainty if the NSG clearance is got before his term expires," he said.
Karat, who has been holding parleys with Left, United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), Congress and UPA (united Progressive Alliance leaders on the issue, says: "the tactics adopted (by the government) has been to try and get the Left to agree piecemeal to a step by step operationalisation of the 123 agreement. The Left is being told that once it agrees to go to the Board of Governors, the government won't proceed further. This is similar to the promise made of not going beyond the negotiations with the IAEA Secretariat made in November 2007."
Maintaining that the UPA side is trying to convince the Left that IAEA approval will pave the way for nuclear cooperation with Russia and France, Karat said, "Nothing can be further from truth."
In February, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns had categorically stated that the US would not get the NSG waiver for India in a "worst case scenario of the 123 agreement being bypassed and India trying to engage in nuclear commerce with other countries.
"So that 'passport' which is being sought can be nothing but an American passport," Karat writes.
In August last year the Prime Minister had also challenged the Left saying the nuclear deal could not be renegotiated.
"I told them that it is not possible to renegotiate the deal. It is an honourable deal, the cabinet has approved it. We cannot go back on it. I told them to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it," Manmohan said in an interview to The Telegraph.
(With inputs from PTI)
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