The Hindu : Front Page : Left announces Statewide protest against nuclear deal

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Tuesday, Sep 04, 2007
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Left announces Statewide protest against nuclear deal

Staff Reporter

The protest will be for five days
Nuclear deal will impact agriculture, says Nagaraj

BANGALORE: The Left parties of Karnataka today reiterated their opposition to the Indo-US nuclear agreement and the joint naval exercises, and announced a State-wide campaign to protest the deal.

Campaign

The five-day campaign will begin on Tuesday and include protest meetings and conventions across the State, said G.N. Nagaraj, State Secretary, CPI (M). “We must see the nuclear deal in perspective. It is not merely about nuclear energy. The agreement will impact every aspect of life in India, including agriculture, industry, education, the judiciary and the military,” he said.

The United States was seeking strategic military cooperation with India in terms of logistical support, maritime trade security and interoperability, which will “bind India into joint operations with the U.S. in their aggressive war strategies”, he added.

Serious impact

Warning of a “serious impact on agriculture”, Mr. Nagaraj said that the agreement would foster the domination of multinational companies over Indian agriculture, through patents and controls over trade.

Joint exercises

On the joint naval exercises with Singapore, Japan, Australia and the United States, he said that this would form “a quadrilateral reminiscent of the cold war”. Joint exercises with the United States now appear to have extended to joint exercises with United States allies, he added.

Stating that the deal is a “clear departure from the Common Minimum Programme, which was the basis of the Left parties’ support to the UPA government”, Mr. Nagaraj said that the Congress must not function as a “single party dictatorship”.

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