CPM shoots open letter to MPs on nuclear deal

New Delhi, Sep 7 (UNI) Notwithstanding the truce with the UPA on the civil nuclear deal with the US, the CPM today once again warned the government ''not to rush through with the next steps'' which were necessary to operationalise the 123 Agreement and also pitched for a parliamentary ratification of all important international agreements.

In an open letter to the Members of Parliament, the CPM said ''the objections and the apprehensions raised by the Left parties and other parties, organisations and concerned scientists and citizens need to be examined before proceeding further.'' In the four-page letter, the Central Committee of the CPM also argued for a parliamentary approval of all important treaties and agreements, saying these had a time-frame beyond that of governments.

''It is necessary to ensure that international agreements/treaties and important bilateral agreements be ratified by Parliament as is done in many countries,'' it said.

The letter embodies a comprehensive viewpoint of the CPM, whose support is critical to the government's survival, on implications of the Hyde Act, its impact on the supremacy of national laws and strategic autonomy and nuclear power and energy security.

The operationalisation of the Hyde Act has been a bone of contention between the Left parties and the UPA government, but the issue was sorted out through formation of a 15-member panel that would look into the controversial Act in all its ramifications.

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