The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Left aim is not to bring down government: Achuthanandan

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Left aim is not to bring down government: Achuthanandan

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister says the Left parties acted in the interest of nation

Criticises IUML stance on nuclear deal
No truck with NCP in State: VS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that the Left is not aiming to bring down the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre by withdrawing support to it.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Chief Minister said that the Left had acted in national interest to save the country from becoming dependent on the United States. If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hung on to power, let his government become a spectacle before the nation.

Bush, Advani dangerous

The Left parties would decide later whether they should vote with the BJP in the confidence motion. Both the United States president George Bush and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani were dangerous. There was no question of the Left preferring one over the other.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), he said, should have stood with the Left parties on the nuclear deal issue.

He said there could not be any truck with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the State. The State unit could not adopt a stand different from its leader Sharad Pawar.

“If Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is not quitting his post, we will count our strength to be less by one,” Mr. Achuthanandan said when a reporter invited his attention to the Speaker’s statement that he intended to stay. The Speaker maintained his independence and that was the understanding before also.

The Chief Minister said that propaganda by the Congress that China had signed a similar nuclear deal was incorrect.

It signed the agreement after removing clauses that were not in its interest. The Congress campaign that the Left parties opposed every proposal first only to accept it later was merely a weak counter to the points raised by the Left parties on the nuclear deal.

Mr. Achuthanandan said that the Left parties had no regret about supporting the UPA government till now. It could force certain issues like stoppage of the privatisation of public sector units. It could also rush legislation on tribal rights to land.

He said the Prime Minister was adopting a stand on the nuclear deal that was not anticipated even by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. The agreement would not help in meeting the country’s fuel needs. On the other hand, it would undermine future development of atomic energy in the country.

Criticises Kalam

He said that about a dozen nuclear scientists had opposed the deal though missile man Abdul Kalam had supported it.

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