Left, Govt trying for consensus on N-deal: Karat

Speaking at a gathering of Indian-Americans in New York on Monday, Gandhi had sought to play down Left8217;s concerns on the deal, saying they were not a cause for 8216;alarm8217;.

Karat admitted that 8216;differences8217; existed between the UPA government and the Left parties, providing crucial outside support to the ruling coalition, over the deal, and said, 8220;we are trying to reach a consensus.8221;

Asked when is the UPA-Left combine expected to reach a consensus on the deal, Karat said, 8220;the UPA-Left committee would be meeting on October 5 when the date for next meeting will also be decided. We are trying to arrive at a consensus on the deal in the next two meetings.8221;

He was in Bhopal to attend a condolence meet organised in the memory of Madhya Pradesh CPM secretary B S Dhakad.

On his party8217;s stand on the nuclear agreement, CPM leader pointed out 8216;the party had made it clear during its recent Central Committee meeting that the government should not take the next step on the deal. Any move should be made only after discussions in Parliament8217;.

To a specific query, the senior Communist leader said, 8220;It Left8217;s stand on the deal is not pressure politics. It the deal is an important question before the nation.8221;

8220;We are entering into an agreement for 40 years, we believe the deal is not in the interest of the country,8221; he added.