Don't operationalise N-deal: Left

New Delhi, Aug 18: The CPI(M) today firmly conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi 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.

CPI(M) General secretary Prakash Karat and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechuri met the Congress leaders this afternoon and conveyed to them the resolution adopted by the party's Polit Bureau at its two-day meeting.

The governmment 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 at a press conference after the meeting with Congress leaders.

When pointed out that the Prime Minister had already stated that the deal was not renegotiable, Mr Karat said the Left parties were aware the accord had been signed ''but we want the government to put the rest of the process on hold''.

Reading out the text of the resolution, Mr Karat said the Polit Bureau felt that giving a go ahead to the deal would not serve India's interests. Given the fact that the majority of Parliament was opposed to the nuclear deal, the government should not move further on it till all objections and apprehensions were cleared, he said.

Mr Karat said the Left parties, which are united in their stand against the deal, would meet soon to take stock of the situation.

The CPI(M) leader said the Congress leadership had played a historic role in evolving a consensus on foreign policy. However, in this case, the Congress leadership failed to evolve a consensus.

He was hopeful that the Congress would take the Left's viewpoint into consideration and ''get back to us.'' Mr Karat said the Left parties would launch a mass movement in different parts of the country to sensitise the people of the dangers that the deal was fraught with.

UNI