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Karat: no danger to government now

NELLORE: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Thursday that the Left parties would not take any step that would destabilise the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government till the committee appointed to study the implications of Hyde Act to the India-U.S. nuclear deal submitted its report.

Asserting that mid-term elections were not round the corner, he said the ongoing campaign against the 123 agreement was intended to safeguard national interest. “We have basically opposed the defence agreement with the U.S., as India has never entered into such an agreement with any country, including the [erstwhile] USSR, though there were certain other treaties with Russia,” Mr. Karat told reporters.

He said the Left parties would convene a meeting with scientists, intellectuals and economists on the 123 agreement at a national convention in New Delhi in September.

Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for stalling the proceedings in Parliament under one pretext or another, Mr. Karat expressed doubts about its intentions.

Later, at a public meeting at Bapatla in Guntur district, as part of the Left parties’ ‘jatha’ to protest against the joint naval exercises with the U.S., Mr. Karat said that the nuclear agreement would allow that country to blackmail us for the next 40 years. Earlier, he was accorded a tumultuous welcome at Stuartpuram on his arrival from Chirala.

Mr. Karat said that the Centre had gone ahead and signed on the dotted line, arguing that parliamentary approval was not needed for entering into the pact, though a majority of MPs cutting across political affiliation opposed it. The agreement marked a serious departure from the independent foreign policy pursued by successive governments, steeped in the non-aligned movement propagated by Jawaharlal Nehru. The U.S. naval crew, presently engaged in joint military exercises off Visakhapatnam, had participated in the war against Iraq, he said.

He said the U.S., armed with the 10-year strategic military agreement binding for 40 years, could arm twist India to change its labour laws and force the government to allow the entry of retail corporate conglomerates like Wal-Mart. This would seriously affect the interests of Indian retailers and shopkeepers.

The agreement would jeopardise the proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India, he said.

“Once the nuclear pact is signed, the U.S. will not allow execution of the project which would bring cheap fuel to the country and once we become dependent on the U.S. nuclear fuel for power production, they can terminate the agreement on any flimsy pretext like not liking our foreign policy.” The power so produced would cost us double the price of thermal power now being produced at Rs.2.50 a unit.

PTI reports from Ongole:

Asserting that the agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal was not acceptable to the majority in Parliament, Mr. Karat asked the BJP to join all others in telling the government not to proceed with it. “The question will boil down to whether Parliament can ratify this agreement. If we take that position, there is no point in asking for a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a vote,” Mr. Karat told NDTV. “I think the question is political. The agreement is not acceptable to the majority in Parliament. We can all tell the Government, don’t proceed [with the deal]. And I don’t see why the BJP cannot take that position.”

Mr. Karat felt that Parliament should discuss the nuclear issue and the BJP should voice its views there.

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