Why can’t they end nuclear ritual once and for all?
The government-Left negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal have entered the red zone.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: The government-Left negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal have entered the red zone. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisting on approaching the IAEA for wrapping up the safeguards agreement and the Left vetoing his proposal, the government on Wednesday put off talks with the Leftists.
The stand off has brought the UPA allies into the frame. Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Manmohan Singh met leaders of allies in the evening to gauge their mood. As many of them are not ready to sacrifice power for the deal, the political call on the deal, which will see Leftists ejecting from the ruling side, will need their backing. The Left leaders, who met here on Wednesday evening to take stock of the situation, were still betting that the government would blink.
���The time has come for us to decide whether or not we want the deal. Now it���s the time for a political call,��� said a Congress leader. At the same time, he pointed to the possible resistance from the UPA allies.
There was nervousness in the ruling alliance over the development. Leaders of the allies began meeting the CPM leaders to assess their plan of action. The CPM and other Left parties have unambiguously told their interlocutors that the next step on the deal would lead to withdrawal of support by the Left.
���Left parties are of the firm opinion that the government should not proceed to seek approval of the text of the India specific safeguards agreement from the Board of Governors of the IAEA,��� said a statement issued on Wednesday evening by the general secretaries of the four Left parties said.
The government decision to postpone the pow-wows with the Left came after external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee unsuccessfully attempted to persuade CPM general secretary Prakash Karat to approve the plans to approach the IAEA. At the meetings with Mr Karat, Mr Mukherjee told the CPM leader that the prime minister was keen on the completion of the safeguards agreement.
Mr Karat, however, made it clear that the Left was against finalising the agreement with the IAEA as it would mean the first most decisive step towards the operationalisation of the nuclear agreement with the US. This means that in Mr Manmohan Singh���s eyeball to eyeball with Mr Karat, the CPM general secretary will not blink.
Where is this confrontation headed to? The Left leaders were sensing that the prime minister was seeking the backing of the allies and the Congress for a confrontation with the Left. It be recalled that Mr Singh had in August 2007 indicated his resolve to take on the Left.
���It is not possible to renegotiate the deal. It is an honourable deal, the Cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them (Leftists) to do whatever they want to, if they want to withdraw support, so be it....,��� Mr Singh was quoted as saying by a newspaper. The Congress��� reluctance to back this ���so-be-it��� line at that juncture forced the prime minister to drop bluster in favour of persuasion.
Given this backdrop, the Left is suspecting that Mr Singh is making yet another attempt to draw the alliance into a confrontation with the Left. But as of now, there is nothing tangible to suggest that the allies are enthusiastic supporters of this plan. As a matter of fact, many of the UPA constituents still subscribe to the conventional wisdom in the party that Congress cannot afford to alienate the Leftists.
On its part, the Left said they have steadfastly opposed the 123 agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation with the US. ���At the sixth meeting of the UPA-Left committee held on November 16, 2007 it was decided that talks with the IAEA secretariat would be held for working out the text of the safeguards agreement. Thereafter, the outcome of the talks will be presented to the committee for its consideration before it finalises its findings. The findings of the committee will have to be taken into account before proceeding further.���
The Left leaders said the committee could only discuss some features of the text safeguards agreement. ���The text has not been made available to the committee. As far as the Left parties are concerned, they have not been able to form any opinion on the text of the safeguards agreement. Neither has the committee arrived at its findings,��� they said and added that in this situation, the government should not go back to the IAEA.
The stand off has brought the UPA allies into the frame. Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Manmohan Singh met leaders of allies in the evening to gauge their mood. As many of them are not ready to sacrifice power for the deal, the political call on the deal, which will see Leftists ejecting from the ruling side, will need their backing. The Left leaders, who met here on Wednesday evening to take stock of the situation, were still betting that the government would blink.
���The time has come for us to decide whether or not we want the deal. Now it���s the time for a political call,��� said a Congress leader. At the same time, he pointed to the possible resistance from the UPA allies.
There was nervousness in the ruling alliance over the development. Leaders of the allies began meeting the CPM leaders to assess their plan of action. The CPM and other Left parties have unambiguously told their interlocutors that the next step on the deal would lead to withdrawal of support by the Left.
���Left parties are of the firm opinion that the government should not proceed to seek approval of the text of the India specific safeguards agreement from the Board of Governors of the IAEA,��� said a statement issued on Wednesday evening by the general secretaries of the four Left parties said.
The government decision to postpone the pow-wows with the Left came after external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee unsuccessfully attempted to persuade CPM general secretary Prakash Karat to approve the plans to approach the IAEA. At the meetings with Mr Karat, Mr Mukherjee told the CPM leader that the prime minister was keen on the completion of the safeguards agreement.
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Mr Karat, however, made it clear that the Left was against finalising the agreement with the IAEA as it would mean the first most decisive step towards the operationalisation of the nuclear agreement with the US. This means that in Mr Manmohan Singh���s eyeball to eyeball with Mr Karat, the CPM general secretary will not blink.
Where is this confrontation headed to? The Left leaders were sensing that the prime minister was seeking the backing of the allies and the Congress for a confrontation with the Left. It be recalled that Mr Singh had in August 2007 indicated his resolve to take on the Left.
���It is not possible to renegotiate the deal. It is an honourable deal, the Cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them (Leftists) to do whatever they want to, if they want to withdraw support, so be it....,��� Mr Singh was quoted as saying by a newspaper. The Congress��� reluctance to back this ���so-be-it��� line at that juncture forced the prime minister to drop bluster in favour of persuasion.
Given this backdrop, the Left is suspecting that Mr Singh is making yet another attempt to draw the alliance into a confrontation with the Left. But as of now, there is nothing tangible to suggest that the allies are enthusiastic supporters of this plan. As a matter of fact, many of the UPA constituents still subscribe to the conventional wisdom in the party that Congress cannot afford to alienate the Leftists.
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On its part, the Left said they have steadfastly opposed the 123 agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation with the US. ���At the sixth meeting of the UPA-Left committee held on November 16, 2007 it was decided that talks with the IAEA secretariat would be held for working out the text of the safeguards agreement. Thereafter, the outcome of the talks will be presented to the committee for its consideration before it finalises its findings. The findings of the committee will have to be taken into account before proceeding further.���
The Left leaders said the committee could only discuss some features of the text safeguards agreement. ���The text has not been made available to the committee. As far as the Left parties are concerned, they have not been able to form any opinion on the text of the safeguards agreement. Neither has the committee arrived at its findings,��� they said and added that in this situation, the government should not go back to the IAEA.
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