N-deal committee meets, discuss Hyde Act

Mukherjee said the meeting framed broad issues to be taken up for discussions and the committee would meet again on September 19.

The Left, whose support is vital for the government’s survival, have asked it not to implement the deal, which was finalised with the United States in July.

They repeated their demand on Tuesday after a stern warning a day earlier that the coalition must not violate the agreed principles of foreign policy on which the left supports the government.

“The understanding is that the government would not operationalise the deal while talks are on,” D Raja, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, told reporters.

The Left feel the deal compromises India’s national security and would make the country’s foreign policy subservient to that of the United States.

The Left’s opposition triggered one of the biggest political crisis for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who even dared them last month to withdraw their support to his government, prompting speculation of an election more than a year ahead of schedule.

Both sides subsequently agreed to set up a committee to iron out their differences.

Agreement Violated

On the eve of Tuesday’s meeting, Left leaders upped the ante by saying the government has violated a pre-election pact with them which brought it to power in 2004 by signing to the nuclear pact.

“The government should comply with the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), otherwise its legitimacy becomes non-existent,” said Nilotpal Basu, spokesman for CPI(M).

A key aspect of the CMP is the pursuance of an independent foreign policy, which the Left says Prime Minister Singh may have undermined by finalising the July deal, known as the “123 Agreement”.

The Indo-US pact allows the United States to export nuclear fuel and reactors to India, despite New Delhi having tested atomic weapons and not having signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The pact is seen as a symbol of increasingly friendly ties between the two powerful democracies, as well as important for India’s search for energy sources. But critics say it undermines global efforts to contain nuclear proliferation.

Left parites also said that the deal would draw India into a wider US strategic plan — including moves to “contain” China — and would undermine New Delhi’s independent foreign policy.

This month, India joined the United States and navies from Australia, Singapore and Japan in the Bay of Bengal for the largest peacetime exercises between New Delhi and Washington.

Left had organised street protests against the exercises.