Nuclear deal: Govt refuses to look Left

The UPA government today hinted that formal negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal would continue.

At today's meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the deal, the government sought to find out from the Left whether it could start formal talks with the IAEA before the panel finished its work.

Even as the Left rejected this idea, the government failed to give any commitment on not starting the formal negotiations.

At the third meeting of the committee today, when External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked the Left leaders if negotiations on a safeguards agreement with the IAEA could be initiated, he was refused so by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.

Mukherjee also tried to assure, in an attempt to get the discount, that the government would not reach the final agreement before the committee comes to its conclusions.

Significantly, he informed the Left that no negotiations had been initiated by the government for a safeguards agreement with the IAEA till date.

According to sources, Karat stood firm and said, "This is not acceptable to us. Let the talks end first." The Left parties also suggested that there should be a discussion in Parliament before the government moves to operationalise the deal.

The Left told the government to concentrate on fulfilling the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme and said the issue of price rise was more important than the nuclear deal.

The Left has indicated earlier that it will withdraw support from the government as soon as the government formally goes to the IAEA to discuss the nuclear deal. This mood was evident in today's meeting where no meeting point between the two sides could be found.

On the issue of Hyde Act and its implications on the 123 Agreement, not only the Left negated the UPA's stand but again raised its apprehensions about uninterrupted fuel supply and reprocessing rights.

After the meeting, Mukherjee told the media, "The meeting carried forward the earlier discussions on the basis of inputs provided by both sides." The next meeting will be held on October 9. The government will send two more notes to the Left before the next meeting.