Left sets July 7 as deadline for nuke deal response

By Dipthosh Majumdar and Smitha Nair, CNBC-TV18

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat said the Left met and has taken two decisions today, reports CNBC-TV18. "We have sent a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the various pronouncements that are being made by ministers and leaders of the government."

The government is going ahead with the Indo-US nuke deal, he said. "We want to know whether the government is proceeding to seek the approval of International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. We want to know the government's position by July 7."

According to Karat, the Left will launch a national campaign from July 14 against the nuke deal and inflation. "We will explain to the people our opposition to the nuke deal. The government has also failed to tackle inflation.”

Karat added that Left parties have also decided to oppose the BJP's move to whip up communal forces and have requested other secular forces to join them.

The Left pulling the plug does not mean this government is going to go. This government is staying as they have the numbers. They now have a firm commitment from the Samajwadi Party (SP). The SP may not have spelt out their support in as many words. But it is absolutely clear from all the indications that have been made by their going to an impartial scientist as ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam.

They have used the Kalam card extremely well. They have showed that it was a secular Muslim who is supporting the deal. So, there is no question of their Muslim vote being touched at all. So, SP has used their Kalam card to their benefit and gone and met Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They have pointed out that they are probably onboard with them.

The government has the numbers. They have to use some smaller parties like Janata Dal Secular, which has 3 MPs. Similarly, Rashtriya Lok Dal has 3 MPs. Once they have tallied it all up, they know they have the numbers.

So, the Left is more about form than content. It is about form because the PM is leaving for the G8 Summit to meet other world leaders on July 7, which is Monday. So, the Left wants a statement from the government before July 7. This means that they are trying to embarrass the PM and send him out from this country. That is what the Left wants to do. But that does not really matter because the numbers, once there is vote in Parliament, are with the PM.