PM eyes honourable exit on N-deal: Left

With Congress' partners in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) not ready to face early elections and the BJP refusing to provide cushion to the government, the Left parties believe that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is looking for an "honourable exit" from the logjam over the nuclear deal.

The government today reiterated its appeal to the Left to allow it to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for discussions on India-specific safeguards for the 123 agreement. At a luncheon meeting with CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan, the PM said even if the government wanted an agreement with Russia or France, it needed to talk to the IAEA.

However, the Left leaders see it as a face-saving formula under which the government will not ink the final deal (as promised to the Left) but try to regain lost glory.

"We have an impression that the Prime Minister is looking for an exit route. He perhaps wants to have something in hand before the government goes down. I think the government is touchy about the growing public perception that it is bowing to the Left's pressure," said a senior Left leader.

The Left turned down the PM's proposal, with Karat saying Parliament should discuss the matter first.

In the meeting, also attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Singh said the uncertainty about the future and longevity of the government had led to bureaucratic paralysis. According to Left sources, the PM said: "You (the Left) have caused such an uncertainty that the bureaucracy is not functioning properly."

However, the communist leaders said the Left parties never made any public statement that they were withdrawing support from this government or that they were not interested in allowing the government to run. They pointed out that all their recent statements said that this government should last its full term.

The schedule for the debate on the 123 agreement in Parliament came up for discussion. The government suggested that the debate could take place after November 27 as the PM had a busy schedule on account of his foreign tours in the coming days. The Left didn't like this idea and asked for a discussion on November 15 and 16, as soon as the session starts. The government is exploring this option.

There was also discussions on Singh's forthcoming visit to Russia. The Left wanted to know if the PM would raise the nuclear issue with Moscow. The government said it had already signed an MoU with Russia to build nuclear reactors. In fact, the PM used this opportunity to convince the Left and said, "If we don't get the fuel, what will we do with the reactors?"

A two-day CPI(M) polit bureau meeting is scheduled to be held here from tomorrow (Sunday) where issues like the nuclear deal and Nandigram will be discussed.