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Saturday, Aug 25, 2007
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Yechury sees no crisis for government

Special Correspondent

“There are stop and eject buttons, we’re telling the government to press only the pause button”

NEW DELHI: While repeating its stand for putting the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal on hold till the implications of the Hyde Act are evaluated, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said it did not visualise any crisis for the United Progressive Alliance government over the controversial deal which has kicked up a political storm.

“There are stop and eject buttons on the remote control, we are telling the government to press only the pause button. Do not proceed further till evaluation is over,” Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau and Rajya Sabha member, told a press meet here.

Answering queries if the crisis for the government on the nuclear deal was over, Mr. Yechury said: “I do not see a crisis. Where was it? Where has it gone?”

Reasserting the CPI(M)’s stand on the deal, he said the party’s Central Committee also reiterated the position that the government should not proceed further with the next step as that would mean operationalising the deal which was not in the national interest.

Demanding a “structured debate” over the deal in Parliament, Mr. Yechury said the party would await the government’s response and “an assurance from the government is a must.”

Asked about his suggestion of setting up a mechanism to evaluate the implications of the Hyde Act, he said the mechanism would be fruitful only when the deal was put on hold.

Favouring a simultaneous debate in both Houses, Mr. Yechury said that it would only prove “our point” that a majority of members were against it. “Our agenda is the nuclear deal, not the survival of the government.”

“If we are wrong in our position taken on the deal, tell us on the basis of facts but do not say that we are acting in the interest of China. This nuclear deal seeks to cap our strategic programme and it has been done by this government. Both the previous NDA regime and the current UPA government have tried to cap India’s strategic programme and who stands to benefit from it, obviously China and Pakistan? So who is acting in the interest of China? Certainly, not our party,” Mr. Yechury said.

He said there could be a dialogue between the Left and the Congress as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had returned from South Africa and her party was deliberating on the response to the Central Committee resolution on the matter.

Mr. Yechury insisted that the Left wanted other issues such as price rise and legislation for workers in the unorganised sector, the Srikrishna Commission Report and the Sachar Committee recommendations to be debated along with the nuclear issue.

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