BJP does not believe in Left's threat to UPA on Indo-US N-deal

New Delhi, Aug 18 (UNI) The BJP today said it does not believe that the Left parties were posing any threat to the UPA Government at the Centre on the Indo-US nuclear deal, dismissing the resolution adopted by the CPI(M) on the 123 Agreement as merely a "piece of paper." BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the CPI(M) had already said that they would not disturb the Government, "then what is the logic behind issuing such a statement or adopting a resolution threatening the government not to go ahead with the deal." He said the BJP would believe the CPI(M) only if they carried their threat to some logical conclusion.

Mr Malhotra was reacting to the meeting CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and Polit Bureau Member Sitaram Yechuri had with Congress leaders. The Left leaders are understood to have conveyed that any step by the government to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal would be detrimental to the country's interests and could have serious implications for the UPA Government.

Mr Karat had told mediapersons that the Left parties were aware that the accord had been signed "but we want the government to put the rest of the process on hold".

He said the government should not negotiate the safeguard agreement in perpetuity on the nuclear deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ''It is now for the Congress leadership to decide as it can have serious consequences for the country and the government,''Mr Karat said.

Mr Malhotra said there were had been several occasions when the Left spoke against the Government but never took any concrete steps to dislodge it.

UNI