By IANS
New Delhi : The United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-Left panel on the Indo-US nuclear deal met Wednesday for a second time and held “constructive” discussions on the concerns expressed by the communists.
“The discussions were constructive and will continue at the next meeting of the committee scheduled for Oct 5,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the 15-member committee, told reporters.
The meeting came 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 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 Monday replied with its explanatory note.
In its note, the government clarified that the Hyde Act was a US domestic law and it would be subservient to the 123 agreement in terms of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Ahead of the meeting, the four Left parties Wednesday discussed at the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) headquarters the reply note.
At the meeting, the Left representatives handed over another note to the UPA, saying they were not convinced of the government’s explanations.
Informed sources said the UPA will respond to the fresh note on sep 24, while the Left will reply to that Sep 27.
On Tuesday, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat upped the ante when he raised a fresh demand for a six-month pause on the agreement’s operation, warning of a political crisis if his words were not heeded.
Asked to comment on Karat’s remarks, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting: “There is no need for hurry.”
Wednesday’s meeting came in 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 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 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 argue 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.