PM pushed nation into political crisis: Karat

New Delhi, Jun 27 (UNI) Observing that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had plunged the nation into a political crisis once again over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI(M) today alleged that Dr Singh was following the schedule set by the US irrespective of consequences.

In an article in the forthcoming edition of the CPI(M) mouthpiece, People's Democracy, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said the present political crisis is a sequel of the PM's renewed bid to go to the IAEA to seek its approval for the safeguards agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal.

Mr Karat's hard-hitting article came in the wake of the deepening chasm between the govenment and the Left parties over the deal, reportedly witnessed during the UPA-Left panel meeting here on Wednesday, when both sides stuck to their respective positions.

Mr Singh, who is said to have the backing of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, wants top US officials to push the deal not only to ensure energy security but also uphold India's credibility in the international arena.

But the poll wary allies and a section of the Congress are not in favour of early elections which will be forced when the government goes to the IAEA and the Left parties withdraw their support to the 50-month-old Congress-led coalition.

''The cause for the ongoing crisis lies squarely in the PM's renewed bid to go to the IAEA to get the agreement approved,''said Mr Karat.

The Marxist leader held that the urgency to approach the board of Governors of the IAEA ''runs contrary'' to the understanding arrived at in November 2007 between the Congress and the Left.

Mr Karat said the reason for such an urgency for the insistance of the safeguards agreement with the IAEA was so that the Bush administration could take the step of formally initiating the process in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to get the waiver for nuclear trade with India.

''The Bush administration knows very well that there is no time for the 123 agreement to be passed by the current US Congress,'' he added.

The intense fighting among the government and Left parties has triggered fast-paced political developments, while the government is engaged in the task of weighing the political pros and cons of executing the deal and has now to take the political call in the next UPA-Left meet, which would be held possibly on July 1.

The CPI(M) has convened its polit bureau meeting here on June 29, the CPI leadership is meeting here on July 1 and the SP is to decide its course of action in UNPA meeting on July 3.

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