Not all allies happy, says CPM

A senior CPI(M) leader says the Congress-led UPA may be firm about implementing the N-deal, but not all its allies are convinced that the deal would be good for India, reports Sutirtho Patranobis.

The CONGRESS-LED UPA may be firm about implementing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, but not all its allies are convinced that the deal would be good for India, a senior CPI (M) leader said on Monday. “Not everybody (in the UPA) is convinced. Though we are not trying to drive a political bargain, we have discussed and explained to them the issues that the Left parties are concerned about,” the leader said on condition of anonymity.

HT Image

“Many parties do not have a principled position on the deal. They are not aware of its intricacies. But since they do not want an election now, they are keen to find a way out,” the leader said.

Meanwhile, the CPM on Monday began distributing pamphlets that trash the nuclear deal. The four separate pamphlets are titled - ‘Don’t Proceed with the Nuclear Deal’, ‘Nuclear Energy and the Electricity Sector: False Promises’, ‘No Mortgage of Indian Economy’ and ‘No Strategic Partnership with America’.

The first pamphlet said: “The Prime Minister has stated that George Bush is the greatest friend of India... In his own country, Bush is regarded as the most unpopular president ... So how come a man who his not friendly to his own people suddenly become India’s best friend? The truth is quite opposite.”

CPI (M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said that through the pamphlets, the Left would take the nuclear issue to the masses in a simplified manner.