India’s Communists put squeeze on govt over nuclear deal

INDIA: India’s communists stepped up the pressure on the minority Congress government saying they would do “whatever necessary” to stop it from implementing a nuclear deal with the United States.

The row over the pact, seen as the cornerstone of deeper ties with Washington, has left Premier Manmohan Singh facing his biggest test since taking power in 2004.

The latest warning came at the end of a two-day meeting in New Delhi of the central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), which along with smaller Left parties prop up the minority ruling coalition.

Senior party leaders, who were not identified, told the Press Trust of India news agency earlier Thursday that the Marxists would withdraw support to the government if it proceeded with the pact.

Later in the day the party’s general secretary appeared to step back from that threat, but continued to strongly warn the government not to implement the agreement.

“We do not want this crisis to affect the government. However this is contingent on the government not proceeding further with the agreement,” said Prakash Karat.

The committee has authorised the party’s decision-making polit bureau to “take whatever necessary measures to see that the agreement is not operationalised,” he added.

But Karat also said his party would wait for a response to their objections before taking action against the government.

The party told the Congress government last week it would face “serious consequences” if it chose to press ahead with the pact.

The main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also rejected the accord, which seeks to bring India into the loop of global atomic commerce after a three-decade gap and give its burgeoning economy greater access to nuclear energy.

The Left has said it will be watching to see whether India tries to move the deal forward by opening talks next month in Vienna on required safeguards with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The communists have said India’s Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar can only attend the IAEA’s General Assembly as a member of the IAEA board and not to launch negotiations.

The government has indicated it will push ahead with the deal. On Wednesday it solicited Japan’s support in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group during a visit to New Delhi by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The approval of the group, which controls the sale of nuclear fuel and technology, is needed for the pact to go through.

New Delhi, Friday, AFP