NEW DELHI: Soon after news broke about India voting in favour of referring the Iran nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Left parties supporting the Government decided to meet in the Capital on Sunday to formulate a response to the development. It is seen as a deviation from the commitment of the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) to pursue an independent foreign policy.

Upset at stance

The four Left parties recently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Iran issue and asked him to work with non-aligned countries to avoid referring the matter to the UNSC or at best abstain in case the issue was put to vote. Since the Government opted to vote instead of abstaining, the Left parties are upset with its adamant stance.

"Unreasonable attitude"

Besides the Iran vote, the economic policies of the Government would also be scrutinised at the meeting. They are particularly peeved at the Government for adopting an "adamant and unreasonable attitude in pushing for privatisation of airports.'' The Revolutionary Socialist Party condemned the stance taken by the Government despite the suggestion of the Left parties that India abstain from voting. In a related statement, the All-India Forward Bloc said India's vote against Iran at the special meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency was against national interest and a "clear violation of the NCMP which envisages that India will follow an independent and unbiased foreign policy.''

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