Nuke deal: Congress, Left heading for showdown

{image-nuke deal_20062008.jpg news.oneindia.in}New Delhi, Jun 20: Toughening their stance, the Left parties declared on Thursday that they would reconsider support to the UPA government if it insisted on approaching the IAEA in spite of their opposition. On the other hand, Left leaders met important UPA partners in an apparent bid to try and get the government to change its mind.

The belligerence comes as a surprise, as till today noon CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat had expressed hope that the UPA government would last its full term. Revealing what transpired at the closed door meet, the sources said that the party will make clear that if the government goes ahead with concluding safeguards agreements talks with IAEA, then the UPA will not last even a day further. Moreover, they claimed that the Left will not allow a minority government to function and will ensure that it gets defeated on the floor of the House.

“Once we break, we will vote with the other side," claimed sources.

Earlier in the day, appearing in a public platform, Karat did not make any reference to the stand-off on the Indo-US nuclear deal, but made a veiled reference to the issue reminding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he had earlier said that UPA was not a one-issue government.

OneIndia News