Left-UPA nuke deal panel to now meet in April-end

A terse note that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left parties would meet again, possibly in April-end, to discuss the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement was the only reaction to come out of the much-awaited meeting of the two sides today. The meeting concluded in less than an hour after it started.

According to Left sources, the government showed no sign of hurry, unlike the earlier meetings. When CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said the Left would need at least a month to study the agreement, the UPA members agreed to give as much time as needed.

The draft text of the India-specific safeguards as agreed upon by India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was not shown to the Left parties. Instead, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Science Minister Kapil Sibal briefed the meeting about the clauses pertaining to the Left's concerns.

While Mukherjee gave a broad vision of the draft agreement, Sibal and Chidambaram spoke on its technical and legal points.

Sibal said this was the best possible agreement with the IAEA and would help India secure similar agreements with other countries. The government emphasised the Left's concerns had been addressed.

Before the April meeting, the government will hand over a synopsis and explanatory notes.

As the agreement is yet to be signed and can impact other countries, neither the government nor the Left is to keen to share the full text of the draft. What was discussed was the "outcome" of the negotiations between India and IAEA.

Karat said the Left would need to study different aspects of the draft which would take a long time. The press note released after the meeting said, "Both sides felt further discussions were needed".

Earlier in the day, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said India did not require to take a draft of a treaty signed and the US to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), the 45-member group that controls supply of uranium.

Talking to reporters, Yechury made a distinction between the draft of the India-specific safeguards that had been prepared with the aim of implementing the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement and a similar draft that might be needed if India were to sign such an agreement with France or Russia.

In its present form, the draft agreement subserved Indian interest to American interests and should not be taken to the NSG, other top CPI(M) leaders asserted.

This was before the Congress-Left committee on the civil nuclear agreement sat down to discuss the draft, the clearest indication that the Left would, under no circumstances, allow the government to operationalise the agreement to the next stage "" getting the NSG clearance.