The Hindu : Front Page : Left hopes Centre will spell out stand on Oct. 22

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Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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Left hopes Centre will spell out stand on Oct. 22

Sushanta Talukdar

Guwahati: CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said the Left parties were expecting the government to spell out its official stand on the operationalisation of the nuclear deal and explain what transpired between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George Bush during the next meeting of the United Progressive Alliance-Left Committee on Nuclear Agreement on October 22.

Laxman Rekha

At a seminar on ‘Contemporary socio-economic and political situation: the Left Alternative’ organised by Ganasakti — the weekly organ of the Assam state committee of the CPI(M) here, Mr. Yechury said the government should not proceed with the deal and refrain from forging a strategic alliance with the U.S., which would amount to crossing the Laxman Rekha of the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government.

Mr. Yechury asked the Congress why it could not stop speaking for George Bush and sacrifice him for the sake of the coalition — when the Bharatiya Janata Party could put the issues of construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370, on which it sought a mandate and came to power, on the back burner for their coalition government to last its full term, he said.

He also reiterated that the CPI(M)’s agenda was not mid-term polls or pulling down the government but opposing the nuclear deal as it was against the interests of the country and its people.

“It is not a question of winning or losing. We are not pulling down the government. The government will fall if it proceeds with operationalisation of the deal.”

Third alternative

He said the CPI(M) has been striving for a third alternative that would be based on policies and not for a third front, which is formed only with an electoral objective.

The CPI(M) leader also urged the UPA government to have a discussion on the deal in Parliament when it meets in November to expose the BJP’s “double standard.”

He alleged that instead of participating in the discussion, the BJP had disrupted the House sessions.

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