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Left parties to convene ahead of N-deal panel meet

PTI | March 17, 2008 | 10:49 IST

Ahead of their crucial meeting with the United Progressive Alliance on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties will meet on
Monday to chalk out their line of action on the issue.

The government is likely to brief the Left parties on the over three-month long negotiations it held with the International Atomic
Energy Agency on the safeguards agreement during the UPA-Left committee meet.

The outside supporters are opposing the 123 agreement with the US and have warned the govt of dire consequences if they
operationalise the deal.

The Left parties have said they will take time to go through the draft of the safeguard's agreement before taking a decision.

The government has also assured the left-UPA committee that they will abide by the findings of the committee.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the committee, exuded confidence that the government would be able to
convince the Left parties.

"I am hopeful of sorting out the issue (with the Left)," Mukherjee had said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said the Left parties were totally opposed to the deal as it was
"anchored in the Hyde Act", which had conditions that were against the interests of India.

"The government will have to move forward only on the basis of the findings of this committee. If the committee says that the deal
is wrong, then it should be dropped," he told PTI.

The government is expected to present the draft safeguards agreement finalised with the IAEA for endorsement of the panel.

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the UPA government will last its full term and the Left parties will not be
responsible if it falls.

"It (government) will last its full term. If the government falls, it won't be because of us," said Karat, whose party along with their
allies give the crucial outside support to the UPA government.

Karat said the Left parties had given the go-ahead to the government to hold talks with the IAEA as it had agreed to bring the
draft safeguards agreement to the UPA-Left panel on the nuclear deal.

The CPI has indicated that in the event of the Left withdrawing support to the UPA government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the
outside supporters would not bring it down.

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