New Delhi: Further hardening the Left stand, CPI on Friday warned the UPA Government of withdrawal of support if it goes ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal.
In a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister, CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan has very clearly said: "Should the government decide to push ahead with the deal, the party will be left with no option but to withdraw support."
The CPI letter comes a day after the Left demanded an immediate convening of the Left UPA coordination committee to clear all the uncertainty surrounding the deal.
Referring to US Assistant Under Secretary of State Richard Boucher's statement that "the nature of the government minority or caretaker will be of no concern to the US when the agreement is signed," Bardhan questioned why the statement went unchallenged.
This is the first time a Left party supporting the government from outside has officially written to the PM, threatening withdrawal of support though Left leaders have been making tough statements ever since September when the 123 Agreement was finalized.
CPI, which has 10 members in the Lok Sabha, is part of the CPI(M)-led Left Front that commands the backing of 59 members, which is crucial to the government.
Bardhan’s missive comes a day after the CPI(M) set a stiff deadline to the government to convene a meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on the nuclear deal by March 15 to discuss issues in the wake of US 'pressures' to implement the deal.
He criticised Prime Minister’s statements in Parliament on the issue, including his appeal to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to rise above party interests, saying :it is an open effort at canvassing BJP’s support for the deal."
“Your talk of trying to build a consensus sounds hollow when you are fully aware that no such consensus is possible — a fact revealed in the Parliamentary debate itself," the CPI veteran said.
(With agency inputs)
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