The Hindu : National : Congress ‘not alarmed’ at Left-UNPA meetings

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Thursday, Oct 25, 2007
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Congress ‘not alarmed’ at Left-UNPA meetings

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Congress is neither alarmed nor surprised at the meetings between the leaders of the Left parties and the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) on the nuclear deal with the United States.

“The party is neither surprised nor alarmed. It can be done in a democratic set-up,” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said on Wednesday.

To a question on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s observation about working with fractured mandates, Ms. Natarajan said: “We have to work according to the compulsions of coalition partnerships. That is the reason why the government is continuing its efforts to convince its supporting parties on the nuclear deal.”

Rejecting the charge that Dr. Singh was a “weak Prime Minister,” she hit back at the Bhartiya Janata Party, saying it was a “sad and defeated party” and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani were “disappointed and disillusioned” leaders.

The Congress and its allies in the UPA stood “like a rock” behind Dr. Singh. “He is a successful, dynamic and respected Prime Minister and the nation will bear witness to that.”

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