In the first revelation on how the UPA government was forced to slow down on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi has said he had doubts about the deal and that he took sides with the Left to save the Central government.

Speaking to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV 24x7’s Walk the Talk programme — the interview will be telecast at 7.30 pm on Saturday, October 20 — Karunanidhi said he had reservations about the deal even before the Left raised its objections.

“Frankly the deal is not important, the government is. I did have doubts about the deal. So I spoke for the Left. I also fought for the Left. I shared the Communists’ ideas with the PM and Sonia Gandhi,” he said.

“At the same time, I had a discussion with the Communists as well. I spoke to Prakash Karat too. After discussions with both sides, I said we should not spoil the relation and we should serve the nation for the remaining two years,” Karunanidhi said.

And that’s why, he said, he sided with the Left in the stand-off with the government.

Karunanidhi also spoke of his belief in Left ideology. “I have always been a believer in Communist ideology. I have been Chief Minister five times, each time my programmes have been of a socialist bent.”

Asked is it true if Periyar had not launched the Dravida movement, he would have been a Communist, Karunanidhi said: “Yes, yes, absolutely.” He also said “no matter what you ask me, you will never get any criticism of the Left out of me.”

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