New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Crisis managers were at work Sunday to find a way to resolve the political deadlock over the India-US nuclear deal as the Left parties appeared ready to give Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government time to work out a mechanism to address their concerns.
Senior Left leader Sitaram Yechury Sunday met Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee who, along with senior leaders A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel, is trying to hammer out a compromise formula.
Emerging from Mukherjee’s residence, Yechury told waiting reporters: “The implications of the Hyde Act (the US law governing the 123 agreement) are very serious. Unless all the aspects of the Hyde Act are considered and deliberated, the government should not go ahead with making any commitment to the IAEA.”
He of course left it to the government to decide the next course saying, “It is for the government to decide what course it takes.”
Yechury also said: “If any such suggestion of examining the implications of the Hyde Act and our objections comes, we will see,” but added, “It is for the government to find out the mechanism.”
External Affairs Minister Mukherjee told reporters: “While the deal text is frozen, there are other stages,” adding that “Efforts are on to work out a compromise” with the Left to break the political deadlock.
“We are making serious efforts… both sides are engaged in talks on various fronts. We are also talking to our allies and among ourselves,” Mukherjee told reporters.
The government was assessing the situation and examining all angles, Mukherjee said, adding: “Let us see how we can proceed.”
CPI-M and three other Left parties that support the Manmohan Singh government from outside Saturday threatened “serious consequences” if the India-Us civil nuclear energy deal was not halted.
He said the Congress party’s core committee under chairmanship of party president Sonia Gandhi will meet around 8 p.m. Sunday to discuss the political deadlock over the nuclear deal.
“After the core committee meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson Sonia Gandhi would talk to the leaders of allies,” he told reporters.
Mukherjee said that the next step in the deal for the government is to hold negotiations with the IAEA for finalising India-specific safeguards for the nuclear facilities that would be subjected to the global watchdog’s inspections.
Once this was done, India would have to secure the approval of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for the purchase of uranium, he said.
The Left, however, wants the government not to proceed on these steps.
It is believed to have given the government a few months time within which it wants the government to resolve the issue and has also said that it would support the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) only on issue-by-issue basis henceforth, Left sources told IANS.
Meanwhile, sources in the Congress told IANS that if the government has to put the deal on hold under pressure from Left parties then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is very sensitive about the nuclear agreement, may offer to step down. The prime minister has given a lot of his time and attention to framing the deal which he feels will solve the country’s energy problems.
The sources say there is every likelihood that when the UPA meets in the evening, Manmohan Singh may offer to step down rather than compromise on the deal.
The Left parties are believed to have said that they will not budge from their opposition to the nuclear deal and are prepared to withdraw support unless the government works out a mechanism to address their concerns. Left sources said they are not keen to withdraw support right now and put the government in trouble.
The Congress is also buying time, discussing the possibility of calling for mid-term polls or mustering support for the government by wooing the non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parties in case the Left withdraws its backing.
Senior Congress leaders will be discussing several options – whether they should go ahead with the deal irrespective of the Left’s support and face the consequences; work out a mechanism with the Left in case they are giving issue-by-issue support and see how their allies react to that situation; call it quits and go for elections, which is the last option, or, forget about the Left and seek support from the Bahujan Samaj Party and other non-BJP parties.
According to Left sources, a major reason for the communists rejecting the Indo-US nuclear deal is that they cannot make any compromise on a move that would deepen the strategic alliance with the US. They have also indicated that they feel this stand would help them garner Muslim votes in case elections are called for.
Left sources pointed out that India’s vote against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the country’s stance in favour of the US helped the communists get votes in Muslim bastions in the last assembly elections in Kerala and West Bengal when the Left brought up the subject during electioneering.
They said that their Muslim vote banks will be protected in case the government falls on this issue.
They have calculated that it will be the government that will lose in the bargain and not the Left, the sources told IANS.
The Left is more incensed over the team of senior officers of the Atomic Energy Commission being dispatched to Vienna to finalise the logistics of implementing the deal with IAEA.
The Left has taken a very grave exception to this and said this could even compromise India’s integrity and sovereignty.