Click to play videoNew Delhi: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has confirmed that the talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards have been completed.
"We had decided in November last year we would go to the IAEA for talks on India-specific safeguards. That stage is over now. We have completed the negotiation. We had told them (Left) that before we finalise we will come and report to you what transpired at the IAEA," Mukherjee said.
While this means that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal has reached a decisive phase, Mukherjee has indicated that they will go ahead only after a green signal from the Left whose support is cruicial for the survival of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government.
Mukherjee signalled that the UPA is not in favour of sacrificing the government at the altar of the nuclear deal.
The UPA-Left nuclear committee will be meeting shortly to discuss the issue.
So the UPA government seems to be backing down a bit on the Indo-US nuclear deal after the Communist Party of India (CPI) made an official statement on Friday that the party would withdraw its support if the government went ahead with the deal.
CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan has already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him not to go ahead with the deal.
"What’s the hurry?” Bardhan asked. “If you move ahead with the deal, then the Left parties will withdraw support."
Bardhan’s letter stated: "Should the Government decide to push ahead with the deal, we will not and cannot be a party to go along with it. We will then be left with no other option than to withdraw our support to the Government.”
He also said that the PM’s efforts to build a consensus were hollow as no consensus was possible.
Referring to US Assistant Under Secretary of State Richard Boucher's statement that "the nature of the govt, minority or caretaker will be of no concern to the US when the agreement is signed", Bardhan questioned why this statement went unchallenged.
Now, 24 hours after the threat by the CPI, the government is backing off, at least for the moment.
Mukherjee said that no one in the government is talking of an early poll. He further said that none of the Congress' coalition partners wanted an early election.
Mukherjee stated that it has been conveyed to Washington that the nuclear deal cannot be finalised within the specified deadline of July.
On its part, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) clarified that they never intended to destabilise the government. Their focus was to somehow stop the government from proceeding with the nuclear deal.
“We have always maintained that our agenda is the nuclear deal, not the stability of the government or, hence, early or late elections,” CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said. “We have taken this position (of opposing the deal) because, in our opinion, it is not in the interest of India or its people. So that remains our agenda."
Yechury was quick to distance his party from the question of elections.
“Whether the government should go in for early elections or not, that’s the decision the government has to take. If Mr Pranab Mukherjee has said that they don't want an early election then its good. There won't be any instability,” he said.
Additionally, key UPA allies like the RJD and the DMK have already indicated they are not too keen on an early election.
On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had held a fresh round of discussions on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The section of the Congress not willing to sacrifice the government appears to have prevailed for now but there's little doubt the Congress is deeply divided.
CNN-IBN has learnt that the key decision-maker in the ruling arrangement, Sonia Gandhi, has not made up her mind yet while there is intense pressure from different pressure groups – the large and powerful pro-election lobby, and those who'd rather have the leadership wait and watch for a while before pressing the nuclear trigger"
Meanwhile, officials say the only bottleneck is the political opposition to the deal; other issues relating to the IAEA are more or less resolved. Even NSG clearance is not seen as an insurmountable hurdle.
The government's only hope – as of now – is the argument that the deal is less about America and more about nuclear commerce finding takers in the Red camp.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.