Chandrababu Naidu meets Left leaders over Indo-US nuclear deal

New Delhi, July 3 : Telegu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Left leaders Prakash Karat and AB Bardhan ahead of the crucial United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) meeting which would finalise its strategy on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Senior TDP leaders Yerran Naidu and Ram Mohan Rao also joined TDP chief during his meeting with the Left leaders.

TDP chief did not divulge details about the meeting and described it as just a personal visit.

On Wednesday, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan had met Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh to brief him on the technicalities of the nuke deal.

He said that BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who called on him yesterday, suggested that the Left parties, SP and BSP should along with BJP form a block and vote against the Government on the deal.

He quoted the BJP leader as saying that the line of Left parties and the BJP were one and the same, but, he added, the SP's line was different as it felt that communalism was a bigger danger.

The standoff over the nuclear deal between the Congress-led UPA government and the Left parties continues amid speculations that the UPA Government might go in for voting over the nuclear deal in the parliament.

The developments over the past few days have given enough hints that the UPA is on the lookout for a replacement of its Left allies, who have been threatening to withdraw support if it moves ahead with the deal.

The Communists are opposing the deal, saying it "compromises India's sovereignty and security" and have threatened to withdraw vital support from the ruling coalition if the government moved ahead with it.

ANI