N-deal: UPA, Left buy time, differences persist

New Delhi, June 25: Unable to reconcile sharp differences over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Congress and the Left parties today bought more time to find a way out, deciding to finalize the findings of their committee on the issue “in due course”.After a 90-minute meeting, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee came out with a terse statement that discussions on all aspects of the deal have been completed and the next meeting of the committee to be convened in due course will finalize the findings.The meeting, which was postponed last week, took place amidst deepening stand-off between the two sides with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh keen on pushing forward the deal and the Left parties strongly objecting to it. The outside allies put forward their views in a three-page note.The two sides stuck to their positions at the meeting when the Government explained the nuances of the process in IAEA for finalising an India-specific safeguards agreement.The Left parties have warned that should the Government take the next step in the deal, they will have no alternative but to withdraw support.CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the Government would take further steps on the deal only on the basis of findings of the committee. Sources said the next meeting of the committee, is expected to be held next month after the G-8 summit in Tokyo where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President George W Bush. However, some Left sources expressed doubts whether there will be another meeting at all in the light of Government’s keenness to go ahead with the deal.They felt the time for discussions with Left parties was now over and the ball was in the Government's court. It has to take a political call on whether they want to break with the Left and go ahead with the deal, they said. Sources said the Congress will have to decide when they are ready to face elections. The breakdown between the two sides has been staved off for now, they said adding they did not know for how long. Sources said the Congress is wooing 39 members of the Samajwadi Party along with a few small groups, some independents which will help it retain majority in the Lok Sabha in which case early polls are not required. The Left parties have 59 members in Lok Sabha.In the Lok Sabha, which has an effective strength of 543, the UPA has 220 members-- more than 50 short of simple majority.In the note, the Left parties have understood to have given reasons why the Government should not take the next steps to finalise the safeguards agreement. It also says that such a move would be a violation of the understanding between the two sides arrived at in November 16 last year.If the agreement is finalised at the IAEA, then the nuclear deal will be on auto pilot as the US would take it to the NSG and then further to the US Congress for adoption, the note said.The Government side also referred to a proposal by NCP that the UPA leaders would give an assurance that Government would not go to NSG and should be allowed to approach the IAEA. This was rejected by the Left.The Left parties also did not favour dragging on the meetings of the committee in the light of the known positions of the two sides.Hectic consultations during the day preceded the UPA-Left meeting with Mukherjee and Antony meeting Karat in the morning after which they apprised Gandhi and the Prime Minister. The two also met PM after the Left-UPA meeting.The CPI(M) General Secretary met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav amidst reports that the SP may tilt towards Congress in a trial of strength in Lok Sabha. (PTI) Source: sentinel assam