UPA govt to complete full five-year term : CPI(M)

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) The CPI(M) today expressed the confidence that the UPA government would complete its full five-year term and that by tomorrow, it would know the exact date for the next UPA-Left Coordination Panel's meet to discuss the outcome of the talks of the Indian officials on the nuke deal with the IAEA.

"Hamen to shuru se Hi pata tha,'' ( We knew it from the very beginning, we knew it), CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told UNI.

Mr Karat's observation was later corroborated by party two senior leaders Sitaram Yechury and Nilotpal Basu.

Earlier at a press conference at the conclusion of the party central Committee three-day deliberations, Mr Karat asserted that the N deal and the elections are two separate issues. Mr Karat was asked whether it meant that there was no immediate threat to the UPA government as is made out in a section of the media and the political circles.

" We are not in that tearing hurry as is the US," Mr Karat said adding that while the Indian officials took about 4-5 months to complete the talks, the UPA- Left panel could also take" two to three months." When again pointed out that it meant that there is no immediate threat to the survival of the Manmohan Singh government, he laughed away the question.

Reports are doing the rounds that a section in the Congress was in favour of clinching the deal, snap ties with the Left to pave for early elections in October- November to get the votes of the middle classes.

While Mr Yechury said the Left wanted the government not to hurry up and operationalise the deal and devote one year time to further isolate the communal forces and provide relief to the aam aadmi, Mr Basu said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's views in this regard appear to be correct.

Mr Mukherjee has said on record that he did not see early elections as the partners in the government were not ready for the same.

To a specific reply why then the atmoosphere of elections was sought to be created by way of highly populist Railway and general budgets, the Left leaders said," Budgets are different from the elections." On his letter to the PM on convening meeting of the UPA- Left panel on the deal, Mr Karat said they had been told that talks with the IAEA had been completed." Now the government in consultation with the Left parties and other political parties will finalise the date.

We hope that by tomorrow we will come to know about the exact date.

We are not in that hurry as is the US." While Mr Karat shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to urgently convene a meeting of the Panel by March 15, his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan went to the extent of telling Dr Singh that if the government went ahead with the deal, his party would be left with no option but to withdraw support to the government.

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