By Liz Mathew, IANS
New Delhi : The standoff between India’s ruling coalition and the communists over the Indo-US nuclear deal continued Wednesday amid the first firm indications that the government may be preparing to put it in cold storage for now.
Realising that it was near impossible to win over a belligerent Left, what with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) endorsing the view that the government should not take any further steps over the deal, a senior minister admitted that the nuclear agreement had a “bleak future”.
If the government goes ahead with talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as its leaders have been saying, the Left will withdraw support, reducing the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into a minority.
Without majority support in parliament, the government would not be able to pass the Atomic Energy Act and international Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Convention, two requirements to make the deal a reality.
Caught in a Catch-22 situation, and with Congress MPs making it clear to their leadership that they were not ready for an early election, an informed source in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that the Indo-US agreement appeared to be as good as dead – as of now.
“Either way, the future of the deal is bleak. We may have to put it in the cold storage for the time being,” said the source.
The source surprisingly added the government might agree to the Left’s demand that New Delhi should not proceed with the India-specific safeguard protocols at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
While continuing to rule out the Left’s fears over Hyde Act, the government sources admitted that the Left’s concerns over the IAEA safeguard protocol were indeed justified because New Delhi would have to make “maximum concessions” in Vienna.
“But we will make it sure that it is finalised with conditions that favour our interests,” an official source said.
Although some senior ministers indicated that the government might turn to smaller regional parties for legislative support in the event of a divorce with the Left, they admitted that the Congress party and the government would pay a heavy price for such an action.
Political sources also said that the prime minister and the government were eagerly watching the two-day CPI-M Central Committee meeting that ends Thursday.
The Central Committee, party sources said, had already endorsed the party’s dominant view, thus sailing with general secretary Prakash Karat who has come out strongly against the nuclear agreement besides India’s strategic embrace with the US.
A formal announcement is expected only Thursday.
“If it (Central Committee) takes a more stringent stance, we will be left with not many choices. But if it leaves a window open for further cooperation, we can go ahead and formulate a mechanism to placate their concerns,” the source said.
Senior ministers pointed out that Karat had “left a window open” by saying that the government should not proceed ahead vis-à-vis the IAEA safeguards and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) till “all doubts are clarified”.
“The government is ready to discuss the Hyde Act, which we say is not binding on us, and formulate a committee to address the concerns raised by Left,” said a senior minister.
“But all these can be done only when the Left finalises its stance on withdrawal of support. Why should we make a compromise now?” the minister asked.
The government’s apparent climbdown – from an aggressive I-wont-bow-to-Left stand Tuesday – is seen as a result of the feedback party leaders have received from Congress MPs about the party’s prospects in the event of a snap election.