Temporary ceasefire? UPA and Left decide to discuss rather than just disagree

The heat over the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal looked set to be lowered, at least for now, with the Left veering around to accepting the UPA8217;s offer...

The heat over the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal looked set to be lowered, at least for now, with the Left veering around to accepting the UPA8217;s offer for a 8220;political mechanism8221; to look into their objections to the Hyde Act even as the government remained non-committal on the Left8217;s demand to press the 8220;pause8221; button on any further negotiations on the deal.

The details of this political mechanism 8212; its duration and its terms of reference 8212; agreed upon by the CPI and the CPM today, will be finalized after Congress negotiators conclude talks with the two other Left parties Forward Bloc and RSP. Before giving the final OK, the Left parties will also discuss it among themselves.

Those involved in negotiations said that the mechanism could take the form of a UPA-Left 8220;political committee8221; headed by troubleshooter External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and experts could be roped in for their inputs. Sources said its timeframe was likely to provide at least a month-long breather to both sides. 8220;We reiterated our position to the government in this first round of talks. We are expecting something concrete by this month end,8221; said CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury who, along with party general secretary Prakash Karat, had an hour-long meeting with Mukherjee, Ahmad Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister A K Antony this evening.

The government8217;s interlocutors had a meeting with a CPI delegation earlier in the day. 8220;We wanted a political mechanism and not an expert mechanism. In today8217;s meeting, it was decided that such a mechanism should be worked out,8221; CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said after the meeting.

Left leaders maintained there was no climbdown from their stated position that no formal negotiations on the deal be held until the committee gives its report. The Congress had a different interpretation, though. As no formal agreement is going to be inked in September when the DAE chief is expected to visit Vienna, the Left8217;s arguments do not hold much significance, said Congress sources. They cited the BJP8217;s turnaround in support of the deal 8212; as evident in L K Advani8217;s statement yesterday 8212; as a sign of how public opinion isn8217;t in sync with the Left8217;s.