By IANS
New Delhi : Differences between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left parties over the India-US nuclear deal appeared to have widened Wednesday with the communists rejecting the government’s arguments for the agreement.
The UPA-Left panel on the nuclear deal, which held its second meeting, discussed the differences but the talks were “inconclusive”. The two sides decided to meet again Oct 5.
“The discussions were constructive and will continue at the next meeting of the committee,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the 15-member committee, told reporters after the 90-minute meeting.
The Left leaders who attended the meeting were more candid.
“We agreed to disagree,” said T.J. Chandrachoodan, the representative of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in the committee.
Left sources said there was no scope or chances for “agreement” between the UPA and the Left over the nuclear deal.
The meeting was held in the backdrop of the Left’s latest warning of a political crisis if the nuclear deal is not stalled even as the US was preparing to brief Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) countries on the controversial agreement.
The two sides in the panel held detailed discussions on the notes they exchanged after the first meeting held on Sep 11, Left sources said.
“In the first note, we have raised our concerns over the Hyde Act and its implications on 123 agreement. We are not convinced with even a single contention of the government. It is a lawyers’ contention,” Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan told reporters after the meeting, held at Mukherjee’s official residence here.
“Actually, the explanation (given by both Mukherjee and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal from the UPA side) has reinforced our doubts,” a Left leader added.
The communists say the Hyde Act, passed by the US Congress in December last year, is not just about nuclear cooperation but also about asking India to dovetail its foreign policy to that of the US.
They had sent a note on their concerns on the 123 agreement and the Hyde Act to the UPA, which replied Monday with its explanatory note.
Chandrachoodan said the real dialogue in the committee began Wednesday.
He said the Left would give another note to the government Sep 24 on their concerns about the impact of 123 agreement and the Hyde Act on India’s foreign policy, and to this the government would respond three days later.
The committee will discuss the impact of strategic cooperation with the US at the third stage.
“There was no mention of the ongoing IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) meeting also as there is an understanding between the government and the Left that there will not be any development on the India-specific safeguard negotiations,” Chandrachoodan said.
The Left sources said there was no reference to Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat’s fresh threat to the government Tuesday, asking for a six-month pause on the agreement’s operation and warning a political crisis if his words were not heeded.
Asked to comment on Karat’s remarks, Bardhan told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting: “There is no need for hurry.”
Ahead of the meeting, the four Left parties Wednesday discussed at the CPI-M headquarters the UPA reply of Monday. At the meeting, the Left representatives handed over another note to the UPA, saying they were not convinced of the government’s explanations.
Wednesday’s meeting came against the backdrop of reports that the US will Thursday brief the 45-member NSG about the bilateral deal between New Delhi and Washington.
According to the reports, the briefing will take place on the sidelines of the ongoing IAEA meeting in Vienna.
The NSG clearance and IAEA ratification of the India-specific safeguard agreements are crucial for the nuclear deal.
However, neither Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, who is attending the IAEA meeting, nor the government has spelt out New Delhi’s position with regard to negotiations over the India-specific safeguards.
While government sources claimed that the IAEA negotiations were not part of “operationalisation” of the deal, Left leaders argued that it includes the talks in Vienna also.
The government has committed to the Left that the findings of the 15-member committee would be taken into account before the deal is operationalised.
The Left has reacted sharply to the time frame spelt out by US ambassador David Mulford and wants the government to explain its next course of action.
“The UPA government should tell the country whether it plans to adhere to this time frame or examine the serious objections raised to the agreement, and keep in mind the fact that the majority in parliament is against proceeding with the agreement,” a statement issued by CPI-M politburo said.
Mulford Tuesday said the deal should be concluded within the term of the present US Congress.