Left leaders meet to decide on timing of pullout

New Delhi, July 5 (PTI) With political activity over the
nuclear deal reaching a crescendo, top Left party leaders met
here Friday for a brainstorming session to work out the timing
and modalities of withdrawing support to the United
Progressive Alliance Government over the issue.

The Left Coordination Committee meeting, which began at
the Communist Party of India(Marxist) (CPI-M) Headquarters, is
being attended by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, his
Communist Party of India (CPI) counterpart A.B. Bardhan and
other senior leaders, including Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D.
Raja (CPI), RSP leaders T.J. Chandrachoodan and Abani Roy and
Forward Bloc's Debabrata Biswas and G. Devarajan.

The meeting is expected to ask the Government to clearly
spell out when it is going to the Board of Governors of the
IAEA for finalising the safeguards agreement. It is also
expected to discuss the fallout of yesterday's meeting of the
UNPA.

"The question is not whether they are going (to IAEA).
The fact that they are going ahead is clear, but when is the
question," Bardhan said yesterday, noting that there were "no
two opinions" about the Left decision to withdraw support.

The top CPI leader said, "modalities will be decided (in
the meeting)... we have to write to the President (to declare
withdrawal of support)...all these things will be decided."

However, RSP and Forward Bloc are expected to ask the
Committee to immediately announce the pullout as "there was no
point in waiting" till the Government announces its decision
to go ahead with the nuclear deal.

A senior Left leader said the parties will come up with a
"charge-sheet" against the UPA citing its several drawbacks
and failures, including "surrendering of national interest,
rising prices and inflation and unkept promises with regard to
the Common Minimum Programme."

To a query whether the Left parties would wait for the
Prime Minister to return from the G-8 summit in Japan before
taking the ultimate step, Bardhan said, "if they tell us they
are going on the 5th or 6th, we will withdraw then itself. But
in the normal course, we will wait till he comes back."

The RSP had last month asked the Left partners to decide
on withdrawal of support immediately while the Forward Bloc in
its central secretariat meeting yesterday decided to demand an
immediate pullout in today's meeting.

The CPI(M) Politburo has already decided to pull the
plug, the moment the government moved the IAEA Board of
Governors to finalise the India-specific safeguards agreement,
which is a key step in operationalising the nuclear deal.

The Left party leaders are expecting that the Government
will approach the IAEA within a week or so.

The CPI(M) had yesterday warned the UPA that the BJP is
now nurturing hopes of returning to power and asked the
Government to implement the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) in
the right earnest instead of "passionately" pursuing issues
like the nuclear deal.

The party told the Government not to bank on its support
if it plans to go ahead with the deal.

"It is high time that the UPA government scrupulously
adheres to the Common Minimum Programme and works for its
implementation in the right earnest, instead of passionately
pursuing issues like the Indo-US nuclear deal which does not
figure in the CMP," said an editorial in party mouthpiece
"People's Democracy." PTI