By IANS
New Delhi : After months of a bitter stand-off over the India-US civil nuclear deal, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat has said he appreciates Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “unquestioned integrity” over the pact but there would be no going back on the Left’s stance.
Karat’s praise of the prime minister comes after the government came perilously close to falling over the differences between the Left and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the deal.
“We are also of the view that there should not be early elections and there is no reason why the UPA government should not complete its full term,” Karat said in an interview with the Kolkata-based The Telegraph.
“It is true that there has been a basic difference in approach between the prime minister and the Left on the nuclear agreement. We recognise that he has strong convictions on the soundness and utility of the agreement. Our differing view on the agreement does not mean that we do not have respect for the prime minister.”
“His integrity is unquestioned,” he added.
Although Karat appreciated the prime minister’s “strong convictions” and the “frank exchange of views” the ruling coalition and the Left have had in the last three months over the nuclear deal, the Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary did not give any indication that he had softened his stance on the deal.
“As the prime minister heading a coalition government without the backing of a parliamentary majority for the deal, his not going ahead despite his firm conviction that it is a good deal will not detract from his stature,” he said in the interview.
“This situation (of leaders not having their way) is well understood in coalitional politics around the world.”
Congress leaders said Karat’s statement was a positive sign of “mutual respect”.
“Dissent is the essence of democracy. Discourse does not stop because of dissent. Mutual respect promotes that democratic spirit and further public interest,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told IANS.
A 15-member UPA-Left nuclear committee, formed to address the concerns raised by the communists, has been discussing the implications of the nuclear deal on the country’s foreign policy and its indigenous nuclear energy programmes.
The UPA, which had been warned by the Left of serious consequences if it went ahead with the deal, had assured that the operationalisation of the agreement would take the committee’s findings into account.
While Congress president Sonia Gandhi have said that the UPA was keen to complete its term, Manmohan Singh had stated that it will “not be the end of the world” if the deal does not go through.