Left threatens to part company with UPA if it goes to IAEA

New Delhi, Jun 20 (UNI) Left parties today threatened to part company with the UPA if it decides to go to Vienna for talks on a safeguards agreement with the IAEA even as they continued their efforts to build pressure on the allies of the government to stop it from going ahead with the" disastrous" move.

Top leaders of the CPI(M)and CPI had a lengthy session to discuss all possible political scenarios arising out of the standoff between them and the government even as Left leaders met important allies to stress their viewpoint.

After CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI National Secretary D Raja were closeted at CPI(M) headquarters this afternoon, Mr Raja told newspersons that the Left was firm on its opposition to the deal.

" There is no change in our stand on the N-deal. We still maintain that the government should not proceed to seek approval of the text of the India-specific safeguards agreement from the Board of Directors of the IAEA," said Mr Raja.

Mr Raja also met RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in this connection." I urged the RJD chief to prevail upon the Congress leadership not to carry forward with the deal. Mr Prasad also assured some via media will have to be found out." CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan also met Samajwadi party senior leader Ramgopal Yadav and explained to him the Left viewpoint." Mr Yadav has told me that the SP still continues to have objections and reservations on the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement," Mr Anjan said.

The CPI leader also said that according to the SP leader as long as these were'' not addressed, his party's opposition to the pact will remain unchanged." While External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is making all efforts to keep the N-Pact ''alive'' and also ensure the survival of the UPA government, Mr Karat met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar this morning and discussed the current political scenario.

Mr Karat met the Agriculture Minister over breakfast at the latter's residence and explained the Left's viewpoint.

Sources told UNI the Left is keen that Mr Pawar should mediate and defuse the situation, as they did not want to do anything which would destabilise the Manmohan Singh government and force early general elections on the nation.

''We hope that the government will ... picking up from para 5, line one of DI17, NUCLEAR-UPA-LEFT-ALLIES.

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