Congress dismisses Left's threat over Indo-US nuke deal

New Delhi, June 29 : Congress on Sunday dismissed the Left's threat to withdraw support to the United Progressive (UPA) government on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Party spokesman Shakeel Ahmad rejected the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) statement that going ahead with the deal would strengthen communal forces.

Reacting to the Left's statement, Ahmad said that the stance of the Left on nuke deal was not a new one.

The deal was in the national interest, as it would help bridge the massive energy gap, Ahmad said.

While supporting the nuclear deal, he said that nuclear fuel was cleaner than coal and more reliable than wind. He further added that developed countries were increasingly going back to nuclear energy as a relatively cleaner fuel option.

Disagreeing with the CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat's charge that the Congress-led coalition had not taken steps to control inflation, he said that the government had taken a series of measures to bring down rising prices of essential commodities in the backdrop of huge increase in international crude oil prices.

These steps had resulted in country experiencing far less inflation as compared to several Asian countries, Ahmad added.

ANI