முடிந்தால் ஆதரவை விலக்கிக்கொள்- இடதுசாரிகளுக்கு பிரதமர் சவால்

சும்மா குலைத்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கவேண்டாம், முடிந்தால் ஆதரவை விலக்கிக்கொள்ளுங்கள் என்று பிரதமர் மன்மோகன் சிங், இடதுசாரி கட்சிகளுக்கு சவால் விட்டிருக்கிறார்.

இடதுசாரிகள் ஆதரவை நீக்கிக்கொண்டாலும், இதர கட்சிகள் மூலம் ஆட்சிக்கு ஆதரவு இருக்கும் என்று அவர் கருதுகிறார்.

கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சிகள் கேட்கிறார்கள் என்பதற்காக மீண்டும் அமெரிக்காவிடம் செல்வதோ, அல்லது ஏற்கெனவே எழுதப்பட்ட ஒப்பந்தத்தை ரத்து செய்வதோ கிடையாது என்று தெளிவாக் அறிவித்துள்ளார்.

இந்திய அமெரிக்க அணு ஒப்பந்தம் பாராளுமன்ற விவாதத்துக்கு வரும்போது எதிர்த்து ஓட்டுப்போடாமல் வெளிநடப்பு செய்யப்போகிறோம் என்று ஏற்கெனவே கம்யூனிஸ்டு கட்சிகள் அறிவித்துள்ளன.

இதனைப் பார்த்து பாஜக நகைக்கிறது. கம்யூனிஸ்டு கட்சிகள் இதன் மூலம் இந்திய அமெரிக்க ஒப்பந்தத்துக்கு ஆதரவைத்தான் வழங்குகின்றன என்று அது கூறியுள்ளது.


PM says N-deal on, dares Left to withdraw support
CNN-IBN
Published on Saturday , August 11, 2007 at 09:17 in Nation section

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally turned the table on the Left over the nuclear deal, and dared his Left allies to withdraw support to his government if they so desire.

Sources in the Prime Minister's office have confirmed to CNN-IBN that the Prime Minister's veiled threat came during a telephonic conversation with CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat three days back.

Following the Left's virtual diktat to renegotiate the deal, the Prime Minister reportedly told Karat that the nuclear deal was a done deal, and that it would not be possible for the government to go back on it.

He even said the Left is free to take any decision. According to sources, Singh told Karat that if they could not find agreement on the issue, then they should agree to part ways gracefully.

In an interview to 'The Telegraph' newspaper, the PM also confirmed having said so. "I told them (Left parties) that it is not possible to renegotiate the deal. It is an honourable deal, the Cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it...," Dr Singh said.

The UPA enjoys outside support from the 64-member Left Front in the Lok Sabha, which is crucial for the survival of the government.

The Prime Minister's statement came close on the heels of strong statements made by CPI-M leader Prakash Karat and CPI leader AB Bardhan, who had on Friday warned that the government will have to pay a 'heavy price' if it went ahead with the nuclear deal with the US.

The newspaper quoted the PM as saying that he was "not angry but anguished" at the harsh tone and tenor of Left's reaction. He said the UPA-Left relationship could not be a one-sided affair. "I don't get angry, I don't want to use harsh words. They are our colleagues and we have to work with them. But they also have to learn to work with us."

Singh, who had spoken to the Left leaders on Tuesday night after their rejection of the nuclear deal, said there was no immediate response by the Left leaders to what he had told them. "They haven't thought it through."

The Prime Minister felt that the Left had a flawed understanding not just of the 123 Agreement, but also of India's intrinsic strength and its enhanced status in the world.

Singh said the deal was an honourable one which enlarged India's development options particularly in regard to energy security and environmental protection and doesn't in any way affect our ability to pursue our nuclear weapons programme.

On Friday, there were also "rumours" that the Prime talked of stepping down during a telephonic conversation with top Left leaders after their public rejection of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Both the Government and the Left parties later dismissed the report as 'gossip'.

"Please don't go by rumours," CPI Parliamentary Party leader in Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta said. The government also thrashed the report as a "gossip."

The Left parties, however, were more scathing in the attack on the Government over the nuclear deal, which they termed as a 'national tragedy'. The Left Front parties, which met on Friday to discuss their strategy for the Monsoon Session of Parliament, even warned the government of 'serious consequences' if the civil nuclear deal is operationalised.

They insisted on considering the 'sense' of Parliament on the matter.

Preparing to rake up the issue in Parliament next week, the Left parties also asked the government to read its 'message' but did not spell out the 'consequences' that the UPA will have to face.

"The government enjoys the support of the Left. It is a national tragedy that such a government enters into a strategic pact with imperialist America headed by (George W) Bush. We cannot stomach such an agreement," CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta said at a joint press conference of the Left Front.

"The Prime Minister has said that the government will not go back on the deal. We are also saying that we will oppose the agreement inside and outside Parliament tooth and nail," CPI(M) leader Basudev Acharya said after a meeting of Left parties to decide the strategy in Parliament.

The Left asked the Congress to understand the 'gravity of the situation'. "This is an untenable situation. The Left cannot close its eyes to such a development," Dasgupta said.

(With PTI inputs)