UPA shying away from convening Parliament: Left

NEW DELHI: The Left parties today accused the UPA of shying away from convening the Monsoon Session of Parliament, saying it feared it would not be able to sustain the majority achieved through "foul means" due to which the Indo-US nuclear deal would be in jeopardy.

Demanding the convening of the Monsoon session immediately, the parties said a delay would mean "contempt" of Parliament and "wilful disregard" for democratic norms.

The parties - CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc - alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leadership want to avoid Parliament till the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) clears the nuclear deal.

"The Manmohan Singh government is afraid of facing the Parliament failure to maintain its majority in Parliament before that (NSG clearance) would jeopardise the nuclear deal with the United States," the parties said in a joint statement here.

Noting that the government had earlier announced that the session will be held from August 11 to September five, the joint statement claimed that the session has not been convened on August 11 but efforts were on "to do away" with the session altogether.

"The reason is clear. After having manipulated a majority by foul means, the government is not confident of facing Parliament where its majority will be in question," it added.

Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader has indicated that the session is likely to be convened in the second week of September.