Left may Withdraw Support

CPI general secretary A B Bardhan on Saturday accused the Congress of precipitating the recent crisis on the Indo-US nuclear deal and indicated that the Left parties might withdraw its support to the UPA even before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned from the G-8 summit.
Bardhan and CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat were in Kolkata to attend a meeting. Karat dubbed the nuclear deal as anti-national and said that it would not solve the nation's energy problems. The Left parties would initiate a nationwide agitation from July 14 on the deal, he said.
Earlier in the morning, the CPI(M) top leadership and Politburo members including Karat, Buddhadeb Bhattacahjree and Biman Bose briefed veteran party leader Jyoti Basu on the party's plan of action.
Later, Bardhan held a press conference at the CPI office. "We had an understanding that we will not withdraw support while the prime minister is away. But there is a campaign going on against the Left. We have heard what the Congress spokesperson said about the Left parties and our letter. This is sheer arrogance. They did not even bother to give a reply to our letter," said Bardhan.
"If somebody wants to precipitate a crisis, we might have to withdraw support to the Government before the Prime Minister returns from Japan," he added. "If the Government fails to meet the deadline (July 7) to come up with an answer, the Left parties will approach the President and ask for a confidence vote in Parliament," he said.
Bardhan said the Left parties would convene a meeting on July 8 or 9 to discuss the issue and would then initiate a nationwide agitation from 14 July. He said after the pull-out Left parties would not be isolated.
"We will have no other alternative but to withdraw support if the UPA goes ahead with the deal. A rally of the Left parties will also be organised in Delhi on July 14 or 15. It will be part of our nationwide agitation on price hike and how the UPA has brought about an uncertainty in the nation. The nuclear deal will also be highlighted," said Bardhan.
Meanwhile, while speaking at the centenary celebrations of Left leader professor Hiren Mukhopadhyay, Karat dubbed the deal as anti-national.
"Our independent foreign policy will be in peril if we go for defence and military cooperation, strategic and economic partnership and the civil nuclear deal with the US," said Karat.
"Why should we enter into such a deal? Our strategic autonomy will be eroded. The 40-year agreement will be expensive. Nuclear power will be expensive, the plants will be expensive and uranium will be expensive. Moreover, after 20 years, nuclear power will only meet 8 per cent of our energy needs," said Karat, sharing the dais with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Bardhan.