Forthcoming UPA-Left meet crucial: CPM

Raipur, Oct 7: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechuri today said the forthcoming meetings of the Left-UPA panel, constituted to address the concerns on nuclear deal, would be crucial and indicate whether the country was in for snap polls.

The panel is scheduled to meet in New Delhi on October 9 and 15.

Asked at a news conference here whether the Left parties stand over the nuclear deal would lead to mid-term polls, Mr Yechuri, CPI(M) Parliamentary group leader in the Rajya Sabha, said only the government could state whether it could lead to elections. "Our stand is very clear. We have asked the government not to pursue the deal", he said.

The agenda of Left parties was neither to create political instability nor to force a mid-term election in the country, he said.

"Our agenda is to save to the country from the nuclear pact with the United States as the deal compromises India 's sovereignty and seeks to weaken the country's independent foreign policy", he said.

Replying to a question over the ongoing controversy over the Sethusamudram Project, Mr Yechuri accused the BJP of adopting double standard over the issue saying that it was during Mr Yashwant Sinha's tenure as finance minister that a budget allocation was made to expedite the project.

"When BJP was in power, they supported the project but now the saffron party had turned against it while in opposition", he added.

UNI