‘No victory or defeat for either side’

The left will adopt a wait-and-watch policy regarding the steps taken by the UPA government for the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Friday., reports Drimi Chaudhuri.

The left will adopt a wait-and-watch policy regarding the steps taken by the UPA government for the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Friday.

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Karat was delivering the annual Comrade Naren Sen Memorial Lecture at Pramode Dasgupta Bhavan in the city on Friday. However, the leader said he does not foresee any chance of the government falling at the moment.

“On Thursday, it was decided that a panel would be formed to examine the deal’s various aspects and the government would consider its recommendations before making the agreement operational. We want the government to take its time and look at all the implications,” Karat said.

Later responding to questions on the UPA-Left mechanism, Karat told reporters: “This is not a victory or defeat of any side.”

He said the Left Front plans to take the issue to the public, in a series of nationwide campaigns from September 4 to 15.

The Left is also planning to ask for a Constitutional amendment, which will make it mandatory for the government to get parliamentary approval before entering into such major pacts.

“We want this to be done particularly in the light of our experience with the Marrakesh Treaty that led to the setting up of the World Trade Organization and the Indo-US deal,” he stated.

Karat also dispelled the prevalent belief that the Left is opposing the Indo-US deal because it could be troublesome for China. “A history of the CPM would show we have always opposed imperialism.”