Govt's US tilt, too, annoys Left

NEW DELHI: India’s approach towards China and Cuba has infuriated the Communists.

The Left is miffed with the government for sending petroleum minister Murli Deora to attend the high-level SCO summit and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “reluctance” to meet the Cuban foreign minister who was here to invite him for the NAM summit in September.

All this, the Left has alleged, is because of the fear of “antagonising” the US. The Left-UPA bushfire over foreign policy is spreading again with the Left seeing a pro-US tilt in the government’s moves in the international fora. Sources said foreign policy is increasingly becoming problematic and its leaders are expected to raise the issue at the coordination meet.

Left parties are of the view that Mr Deora attending Thursday’s SCO summit goes against protocol. India along with Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia have observer status in SCO and the summit is being attended by presidents of the other three countries.

The invite for the summit was sent for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who holds the external affairs portfolio. The meeting is being attended by Russian and Chinese presidents Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao. Seeing the SCO as a crucial counterweight to the US and Nato, the Left is peeved that the prime minister is not attending the meet and instead decided to send Mr Deora as India’s representative.

The other issue which has perturbed the Left is PMO’s attitude towards Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque, who was deputed by Fidel Castro to visit India with a personal invitation for the prime minister to attend the NAM summit.

According to sources, the Cuban minister was given a date but told four days before he was to reach India that the prime minister was busy and the invitation could be handed over to minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma.

The Cuban embassy is understood to have handed over the invitation to the government. The Left has dismissed putting down as protocol Mr Singh’s avoiding a meeting with the Cuban foreign minister as the prime minister has met US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice.

With the Indo-US nuclear deal pending the approval of the US Congress, the Left suspects that the UPA’s moves are dictated by a single agenda of not displeasing Washington. The note sent to the government on Wednesday accuses it of relenting to US pressure and has been critical of the Indo-US knowledge initiative and CEO forum. The Left also wants the government to spell out its stand on Palestine.