Asserting that there has been ‘no climb down or a U-turn’ by the Left on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI on Wednesday said the government would have to report its discussions at the IAEA to the UPA-Left panel and consider its views before signing the safeguards agreement."We have taken a flexible stand and allowed the government to hold discussions on the safeguards agreement. But we have not given a blank cheque. They will have to come back to the UPA-Left Committee on the discussions it holds at the IAEA," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said in New Delhi.He said the nuclear deal ‘cannot be operationalised till the issues are sorted out with us in this Committee’.The CPI leader, who was accompanied by national secretary D Raja and senior Lok Sabha MP C K Chandrappan, said, "there is no climb down or a U-turn on part of the Left parties in this issue.”Acknowledging that there were differences in perception between government and Left on the question of operationalisation, Raja said while the Left felt that talking to the IAEA would imply operationalisation, government felt the deal could become effective only when agreements were signed with the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers' Group."We are being reasonable. We are discussing (with government). The next meeting will be held on Friday. We expect the government to tell us on that day what it plans to do," Raja said.He and Dasgupta said the opposition of the Left to the nuclear deal remains.Dasgupta said the government should heed to the opinion expressed in the proposed debate on the nuclear issue in Parliament.
