New Delhi
20 August 2007
In a statement that would have disappointed the spin doctors in the
Congress party and the UPA, the Left parties on Monday said that their demand of not
proceeding further with the agreement or of not operationalising the agreement will
necessarily entail a freeze on the next step of negotiating a safeguards pact with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"The Left parties reiterate their stand taken on August 7, 2007 that in view of the
widespread opposition to the agreement and the fact that a majority in Parliament are
against it, the government should not proceed further with the agreement," CPI National
Secretary D Raja said, reading from the statement issued on behalf of all four Left
parties -- CPI(M), CPI, All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party.
The statement, which was issued after a nearly three-hour-long meeting at the CPI(M)
headquarters, read: "The Left parties wish to state that this would require not taking the
next step of negotiations for the safeguards agreement with the [IAEA.] The Left parties
can understand the setting up of a committee or any other mechanism which can go into
the objections regarding the agreement and evaluating the implications of the Hyde Act
for the nuclear cooperation deal. But this can follow only when the next step at the IAEA
is not taken."
The statement contained an "appeal" to the allies of the Congress party in the UPA.
Reaching out to them directly, the Left parties said: "[We] appeal to all the parties in the
UPA to see the reasonableness of the stand taken which is fully in the spirit of our
parliamentary democracy and the government's commitment to the country's welfare."
The Left parties concluded their statement by suggesting that they will "await the
response of the Congress leadership and the UPA to their proposal."
Mr Debabrata Biswas of All India Forward Bloc told reporters that heaven will not fall if
the government held out for a few months. "On one hand the government says it will go
ahead with the next steps and on the other, it calls for a debate and discussion ... this
can't go on," he said. He felt that the nuclear deal was not in the interest of the nation. "It
will tie India to US foreign policy," he said.
Earlier in the day, CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said after a meeting with
Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee that there was no change in the stand of
the Left parties and the situation was as it is. "The situation is where it is. We have not
heard anything about the committee (to go into the Hyde Act and its implications on the
123 agreement)", he told reporters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in his August 13 suo motu statement to
Parliament: "On the basis of the Indo-US bilateral agreement and the finalisation of an
India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA, which is being taken up shortly, the
Nuclear Suppliers Group is expected to adapt its guidelines to enable international
commerce with India in civil nuclear energy".
The Left parties had said in their statement on August 7 that the agreement ties India into
long-term virtually irreversible changes in its nuclear institutional structures and
arrangements. It therefore is crucial to ensure that the country is fully satisfied on all
aspects of the agreement before it places its civilian nuclear facilities under permanent
IAEA safeguards. It asked the UPA Government not to proceed further with the
operationalising of the agreement.
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