Govt can survive if N-deal is not operationalised: Karat

New Delhi, Aug 17: CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today gave hints that the UPA Government, under attack from different political formations over the Indo-US nuclear deal, could still survive if it chooses against operationalising the controversial pact. ''It seems honeymoon (with UPA Government) is over but the marriage can still go on,'' Mr Karat told reporters an hour before the start of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau meeting.

His remarks assume significance, coming as they do a day after CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan's statement in a television interview that the 'honeymoon' was over and withdrawal of support by the Left parties to the UPA Government appeared inevitable.

Besides Mr Karat, the two-day Polit Bureau meeting is being attended, among others, by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Mr Sitaram Yechuri, Ms Brinda Karat, and Mr Biman Bose. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and former party General Secretary H S Surjeet are not attending the meeting.

Mr Biman Bose, who is the Chairman of the ruling Left Front in West Bengal, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should learn from the Budhadeb Bhattacharjee Government how a coalition should be run effectively.

The Polit Bureau meeting will discuss how the Left parties can compel the UPA Government to reverse its position on the 123 agreement in the nuclear deal, finalise arrangements for the party's Congress in Hyderabad in April next year and discuss organisational matters.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Ahmed Patel, Political secretary to the Congress President, are said to be in touch with Mr Karat on the stand-off between the government and the Left parties on the nuclear deal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi is in contact with Mr Jyoti Basu on the subject.

UNI