Cong, Left talks still on, pause button a grey area

As the UPA and the Left moved towards setting up a political committee to look into the implications of the Hyde Act

As the UPA and the Left moved towards setting up a political committee to look into the implications of the Hyde Act, a crucial aspect of the negotiations remained in the grey area8212;the Government8217;s stance on the Left demand to press the pause button on the deal.

8220;What we were given to understand is that by agreeing to discuss and form a mechanism, they were showing us that they were willing to address our concerns before going ahead with the next step in the operationalisation of the deal, which is the IAEA safeguard talks,8221; said a senior CPI leader.

Forward Bloc Secretary G Devarajan, who along with party General Secretary Debabrata Biswas met UPA interlocutors on Tuesday, said: 8220;We stick to our stand that the Government should not proceed with the IAEA talks unless our doubts are cleared. What we gather is that the Government understood our position before telling us about the mechanism.8221;

Ruling party sources, however, rubbished the claims and said at no stage did the UPA interlocutors give any such impression. 8220;There is no question of going slow. Has External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee given any such assurance? We cannot do anything about the Left8217;s understanding,8221; they said.

While the CPIM, the CPI and the Forward Bloc have come on board on setting up the political committee, the lone discordant voice came from RSP leader Abani Roy who also met the UPA interlocutors on Tuesday. Roy saw no use of such a mechanism given the Left8217;s primary objection to the Indo-US nuclear deal. He said he would get back after discussions with his party leadership.

Meanwhile, the Left sought to expand the scope of the political committee beyond the Hyde Act. CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan who along with party Secretary D Raja was the first to be consulted by the Government in the first round of talks, announced six issues that the 8220;political mechanism8221; should probe into: the impact of Hyde Act on the 123 agreement, the implications of this agreement on India8217;s foreign policy; its implications for India8217;s strategic nuclear programme; whether this agreement drags India into a strategic partnership with the US thus impacting India8217;s traditional policies towards West Asia etc; the cost-effectiveness of nuclear energy and the nature of safeguards India is negotiating with the IAEA and what it means when there is a clause on annual reporting by the US President to the US Congress.

Bardhan said his party had no intention to 8220;destabilise the Government or the country or to force an immediate election8221; and such hints were given only in 8220;debates8221; when 8220;an extra word8221; was spoken here and there.

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The UPA interlocutors including Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and senior Congress leader Ahmad Patel will report to PM Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi about the progress of their deliberations with the Left shortly. The Left parties are expected to meet on Wednesday or Thursday.