Pranab rules out CPI(M) withdrawing support to UPA

Kolkata, Dec 16 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today ruled out any possibility of the CPI(M) withdrawing support to the UPA Government at the Centre for the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The nuclear deal has not been finalised and discussions were on. Both the UPA and the Left coordination committee in their November 16 meeting at Delhi decided that the Centre would look to safeguard the interests of the country in the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) meeting, Mr Mukherjee told newspersons while releasing two books, ''Sachar Committee Report'' and the '' Indo-US Nuclear Deal Agreement'' at the party's state headquarters here.

''We will dicuss on the language of the deal together and take the next step in our next coordination meeting. But withdrawing support to the UPA government does not come,'' he added.

''We have already debated the matter in the Lok Sabha for more than eight hours and in the Rajya Sabha for more than eleven hours and have replied to all the queries for 62 minutes in the Lok Sabha and 75 minutes in the Rajya Sabha to the members of both Houses in this regard,'' he said.

Asked for his reaction to CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat's ultimatum to the UPA Government to immediately scrap the deal, he said, ''it is nothing'' and talks of mid-term polls or withdrawing support were raised in coalition governments.

Referring to the Sachar Committee report, Mr Mukherjee said the UPA government had formed a minority commission which made some recommendations for upliftment of the minorities.

''We are expecting that the minority community would benefit from the commission's report,'' he said.

UNI