Our agenda is nuke deal, not govt: CPM

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) renewed pressure on the government on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal, and warned that its agenda was "not the stability" of the Congress-led coalition.

"Our agenda is the nuclear deal and not the stability of the government or an early or late election. We are opposed to the deal because we think it is not in the interest of the country," CPI (M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury told media persons in New Delhi.

Whether the government will go in for early elections is for them to decide, he said in reply to a question on the sidelines of the party central committee meeting in New Delhi.

At the same time, he recalled that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said survival of the government was more important than the deal and ruled out early elections.

He reminded the government that there is a written agreement in the UPA-Left committee that it will not sign any agreement with IAEA and come back to the committee. It is only after the committee takes a decision that the government can take the next step, he said.

According to the written agreement of the UPA-Left committee, Yechury noted that the government will proceed on the basis of the committee's finding. "If the committee says it is not correct, the government has to follow it," he added.

The plain talk of CPI (M) comes a day after CPI formally warning the government on withdrawal of support if it goes ahead with the nuclear deal.

CPI general secretary A B Bardhan's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came a day after the stiff deadline set by CPI-M to the government to convene a meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal by March 15 to discuss issues in the wake of US 'pressure' to implement the deal.