By IANS
New Delhi : The Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Saturday faced with its worst political crisis in three years after communist leaders warned it of “serious consequences” if it went ahead in implementing the civil nuclear agreement with the United States.
The Left parties, however, stopped short of withdrawing support to the ruling coalition, and kept open some elbow-room for a compromise by putting the onus on the government to take a final decision on the nuclear deal after taking their core concerns and objections into account.
Addressing journalists after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Karat said sternly that he and his colleague Sitaram Yechury had conveyed the Left’s strong reservations over the nuclear deal to the two leaders.
“It is for the Congress leadership to decide on the matter which will have serious consequences for the government and the country,” Karat said. “I wish to stress that the Left parties are firmly united on the stand that this agreement should not go forward.” The Left parties have 59 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Without their support, the government will be reduced to a minority
Karat’s ultimatum – after the CPI-M ended a two-day meeting of the politburo – has put the ball in the government’s court.
Immediately after Karat’s threat, the Congress core group comprising Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmad Patel met to take stock of the latest situation that has cast a shadow on the government.
Once the Congress core group meeting ended Saturday evening, the party started discussions with allies within the ruling UPA coalition. Mukherjee, Antony and Patel met Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, whose party adds 24 MPs to the treasury benches. They are also likely to meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar as soon as possible.
The core group reportedly decided to discuss with its UPA allies the implications of the government going ahead or not going ahead with the operationalisation of the nuclear deal, and to then sit down with the Left leaders once more to spell out the various options before the government and come to a decision.
Before the Congress core group meeting, Karat had clearly said: “This nuclear agreement is not acceptable to us. Till all the objections are considered and implications of the Hyde Act evaluated, the government should not take the next step with regard to negotiating a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“I think the government knows the majority in parliament have strong reservations over the matter. So the democratic way would be to hold the agreement till the doubts and apprehensions are clarified.
“We have explained to them (Manmohan Singh and Gandhi) how we view this agreement, how we think it is necessary for the government to look at all the aspects before going to the next step which will make it a fait accompli.
“We hope they will discuss the (politburo) resolution and get back to us. We will have to wait for their response.”
Before the Congress core group meeting, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and discussed with him the finer details of the 123 civil nuclear cooperation bilateral pact to buffer the government against critics of the deal.
Congress party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi chose to downplay the political crisis that could ensue if the Left-UPA standoff continues.
“We understand concerns of all parties. We will discuss the Left’s concerns and take a decision in national interest,” he said.
Stressing that national interests would not be compromised by the nuclear deal, he said the government had discussed the nuclear deal with the Left parties many times in the past.
Left sources said Karat’s assertive repudiation of the deal was in response to Manmohan Singh’s bitter comments in an interview telling the Left to withdraw support to his government, if they wanted to, over the nuclear deal.
CPI-M sources said Karat and Yechury did not speak about withdrawal of Left support to the Congress-led government when they met Manmohan Singh and Gandhi Saturday.
“Now it is up to the prime minister and the government to decide whether they are ready to renegotiate the deal or to address our concerns when the agreement is taken to the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group),” a Left leader told IANS here.
The Left’s demand for renegotiation of the deal, however, is unlikely to be conceded by the Indian and US governments, which have already frozen the 123 pact. Any attempt to renegotiate the deal by either party now could well lead to its unravelling.
Congress sources indicated that Manmohan Singh, who had termed the nuclear deal with Washington “historic”, would not be ready to keep it on hold. “He may prefer to step down,” said a senior party leader.
Besides the specifics of the nuclear deal, the Left parties have serious anxieties about the drift of the country’s foreign policy which they say has acquired a pro-US tilt and if the nuclear pact is operationalised, it will end up reducing India to a junior partner of the US’ strategic alliance.
In response to questions, Karat said the Indo-US nuclear agreement should not be seen “as a narrow party issue. It concerns the entire country. So we are saying (that) don’t proceed, discuss the matter, take into account all the matters and then we can take a decision”.
Asked if he desired Manmohan Singh to quit, Karat replied: “I am not suggesting anything. I asked them not to take the next step”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also upped the ante over the nuclear deal saying it would press for a vote in parliament over the nuclear deal. “This is not in the interests of the country. We have expressed concerns about the Hyde Act from day one,” senior BJP leader V.K. Malhotra said.