By IANS
New Delhi : With the government clearly indicating an early winter session of parliament, third front parties Wednesday intensified their attempts to build a common platform with the Left parties against the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), particularly on the India-US nuclear deal.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu met Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan and deputy leader D. Raja at the CPI headquarters here.
“It was a courtesy meeting. But we discussed our stand on the nuclear deal,” Naidu told reporters after the meeting.
On Tuesday, TDP leader Yerran Naidu and Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh had met Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat to discuss issues on which they could come together.
The third grouping, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) of which TDP is a member, said Tuesday the government should not operationalise the nuclear deal without parliament’s approval.
Left leaders have indicated that they want to formulate a joint strategy to oppose the deal in the wake of the government’s plans to call the winter session early.
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Minister Prithviraj Chavan has told reporters that the government might propose an early winter session — which usually begins in mid-November — in the wake of the Gujarat assembly elections announcement. The state election in Gujarat is scheduled for Dec 11 and 16.
However, Left leaders feel that a detailed debate on the nuclear deal may not take place in the winter session.
“We do not see any scope for holding a debate on the nuclear issue in parliament as BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is not likely to allow any discussion in parliament. With Gujarat elections in the cards, the BJP is no mood for a debate on that issue,” a Left leader told IANS.
“Besides, the BJP’s stance over the deal is still not clear. They (BJP leaders) may not like to be exposed also,” he added.