A day after CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu declared that there would be no compromise on the nuclear deal issue, a statement by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher saw a change of heart at the party’s two-day Central Committee meeting.

Emerging from the meeting today, Basu spoke of “concessions” from the Central government on the nuclear deal and said they were ready to give the Congress some time to decide.

Asked what they would do if the Congress rejected the Left’s demand, Basu said: “We will see if they can give some concessions. Then we will decide.”

At a briefing in New York on Friday, Boucher said there was no timeline for operationalising the nuclear deal. “We will deal with it as it comes. We’ll deal with it in terms of the opportunities that are there when India is ready to move forward.”

Acknowledging the Left opposition to the deal in India, Boucher added: “We’ll leave it to the Indians to work their way through the current political discussion in Delhi.”

Today, the CPM patted itself on the back for the statement, with its Bengali mouthpiece Ganashakti highlighting it alongside a report on the proceedings of Saturday’s Central Committee meeting where Basu held out the threat. “Left’s opposition forced the US to take time on the issue,” commented the paper.

The Central Committee members openly called Boucher’s statement a victory for the Left. “We put pressure on the UPA government and Boucher’s statement is a reflection of that,” said Sukomal Sen.

... contd.