By IANS
New Delhi : Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday hit out at the government’s Left allies for opposing the India-US civil nuclear deal – signalling a parting of ways with them and possible early polls – while the communists went on the defensive, saying the onus for calling early polls would lay with the ruling coalition.
In remarks bound to further strain ties between the Congress and the Left, Gandhi told a massive rally in Haryana’s Jhajjar town that the nuclear deal with the US was “necessary for the country to keep the pace of development going”.
“We have a proposal for a nuclear deal with the US. The deal is necessary for the country to keep the pace of development going. Power generation is important and central to our future requirements if we want development to take place,” Gandhi maintained.
Strongly defending the nuclear deal, she said that those opposing the pact were against the country’s development.
“Some people are trying to create obstacles in the country’s path of development. They are against development and peace both. You should be on guard against them,” she said.
“Those who have been creating hindrances in the implementation of development programmes were enemies of not only the Congress government but also of the common people. Therefore, such elements should be given a befitting reply.”
The Left bloc led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is the most vocal critic of the India-US deal. The communists say the pact will make India a junior partner to the US in strategic and foreign affairs.
Gandhi’s outburst put the communists on the defensive.
“The Congress has made up its mind. The Congress will be responsible for forcing early elections on the country,” said Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan.
“We never said that we wanted to pull down the government. Otherwise, we would have never been in the (UPA-Left nuclear) committee,” he said.
The Left has warned of “serious consequences” if the government makes the nuclear deal operational. A withdrawal of support by the Left would reduce the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to a minority in the Lok Sabha, leading to possible early general elections.
A 15-member UPA-Left committee formed to address the Left concerns has held three meetings but there are no signs that the standoff between the two sides would be resolved.
Gandhi’s speech in Hindi in a town some 130 km from New Delhi came even as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu in Kolkata, apparently to discuss the dragging Congress-Left differences over the nuclear deal.
Gandhi, who spoke after laying the foundation stone for a 1,500 MW super thermal power plant, said the nuclear deal was necessary for the country’s future power requirements.
Gandhi’s outburst is seen as a clear indication of an imminent parliamentary poll. In a chat with media persons Saturday Gandhi said that her party was ready to face a snap poll.
She patted the Manmohan Singh government for the nuclear deal and for initiating welfare schemes for the people, especially women and the poor, in the period it has been in office since May 2004.
Gandhi also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for raking up objections to the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project in the sea between India and Sri Lanka.
“Politics is being done in the name of Lord Ram. I hope the issue is resolved amicably,” she said.
“The Congress has equal respect for all religions,” she added, while greeting the people for the forthcoming festival season.