UPA Govt unlikely to fall on Indo-US nuclear deal issue: Biman Basu

Kolkata, Aug 21 (UNI) A day after veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu ruled out the possibility of a mid-term poll in the country, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and West Bengal state Committee Secretary Biman Basu today assured that the UPA Government was unlikely to fall on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal.

'' The subject will be discussed in Parliament under a section which does not entail voting. So there is no possibility of the Government being toppled on this issue,'' he told reporters after leaving for Delhi to attend the party's two-day Central Committee meeting beginning tomorrow.

Mr Basu said the issue would, however, be taken up again at the party's Central Committee meeting for a thorough disucssion.

Yesterday, Mr Jyoti Basu said the Polit Bureau was unanimous in its decision to oppose the nuclear deal, which the UPA Government had struck to accept US 'subordination'.

The PB observed that such a big decision on the nuclear deal has been taken to act as a stooge of America, he had said.

An alarm started ringing in the Congress-led coalition Government after CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the Polit Bureau's decision that the Indo-US agreement must be put on hold.

Making clear that the stand of the Left, giving outside support to the Government, was a fait accompli, Mr Karat had said the Centre must not proceed further with the agreement with regard to negotiating the safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The stand made uncertain the stability of the Government, which was 30 short of the required majority without the Left, and gave rise to speculations about the possibility of withdrawal of support and a mid-term election.

UNI