'Left gets commitment from Centre on IAEA talks'

Chennai, Feb 28: CPI(M) Polit bureau member R Umanath today said the Left parties have allowed the Union government to hold talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the Indo-US nuclear deal, only after getting a commitment from it that it should get back to them on any understanding reached with IAEA.

''We have got a commitment from the Centre. Only on that basis, we have allowed them to talk to IAEA. If at all any understanding is reached, we will go through it fully, before taking a decision. We have the right to oppose it or accept it. If we dont accept it, we will not allow its implementation,'' he told newspersons here.

Asked whether the Left parties would withdraw its crucial support to the UPA government at the Centre if it went ahead with the implementation ignoring the commitment to the Left parties following pressure from the US, he said ''we cannot say anything now. We will react at that time.'' Mr Umanath said the Left parties were working towards forming a third alternative, sans the Congress and BJP, with a policy in the national interest. The CPI(M), the third largest party in Lok Sabha, was in the forefront of keeping the communal forces at bay and had been supporting the UPA government while opposing its economic policies. There was no question of diluting this stand, he added.

''We are already holding talks with like-minded parties in the north and south regarding the third alternative. We are talking to some of the constituents of the UPA, including the DMK,'' he said.

The Marxist leader said these topics, along with CPI(M) having an independent role in Indian politics and the present political situation would be the focal theme of the 19th All India CPI(M) Congress, to be held in Coimbatore from March 29 to April 3. About 800 delegates of the CPI(M) from India and 34 leaders of communist and workers parties from other countries were expected to take part in the congress, to be held in Tamil Nadu for the third time. The congress would culminate in a massive rally and a public meeting on April 3.

UNI