No contradiction within CPM on nuke deal:Jyoti Basu

Kolkata, Sep 21 (UNI) Endorsing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's advocacy for nuclear power, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu today said there was no contradiction within the CPI(M) in its opposition to the Indo-US nuke deal.

''There is need for nuclear power...foreign capital is also necessary since that will provide jobs to the youth. But this has nothing to do with our opposition(to the nuclear deal),'' he told reporters after attending the party's State Secretariat meeting.

His comments came in the wake of criticism from some quarters that the CPI(M) was suffering from a contradiction while wooing US capital in West Bengal and sticking to the anti-America stand at the same time.

Speculations of a possible ideological rift within the CPI(M) gained strength when the chief minister, at a CII meeting on September 17 said nuclear energy was essential to meet the country's growing power requirements and it was therefore, impossible to avoid the issue.

Even though Mr Bhattacharjee said it was a controversial issue, he observed that the importance of nuclear energy could not be overlooked.

However, Mr Basu scotched reports that Mr Bhattacharjee and his Bengal comrades were toeing a different line from what party General Secretary Prakash Karat had been following to precipitate the UPA-Left relation over the Indo-US nuke deal.

''There is no difference within us over opposition to the US. We go by our own principles. We consider imperialism and communalism as equal threats,'' he said.

Led by the CPI(M), the Left parties have been fiercely opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal alleging that it would endanger the country's sovereignty in certain areas.

UNI