Nuclear deal should not operationalise: Karat

Ongole, Sep 6: Castigating the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for collaborating with the US and its allies in a joint military exercise in the Bay of Bengal, leaders of the Left parties, led by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, today said the Government should not operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Leading a ''Jatha'' (march) from Chennai to Visakhapatnam to protest against the joint naval exercise, Mr Karat charged the ruling Congress with giving a go-by to the non-aligned foreign policy evolved by the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and continued by the Indira Gandhi regime.

''It is for the UPA Government to now decide whether it will be with the Indian people or with the imperialist USA,'' he added.

When the Indira Gandhi government decided to give a helping hand to East Pakistan to liberate itself from West Pakistan, the US seventh naval fleet had threatened India. The very same US navy had now been allowed to take part in a joint naval exercise 36 years later, ''jeopardising national interest'', he lamented.

All India Forward Bloc leader Devaraj, CPI State Secretary K Narayana and other left leaders also took part in the programme.

Referring to the land stir spearheaded by the Left parties, Mr Karat said they would continue their agitation until the Congress government in the state conceded their demands, including the appointment of a Land Commission and Ombudsman to deal with land-related issues and houses to the poor.

UNI