Chennai, April 21: Even as the UPA Government at the Centre continues with its efforts to bring the Indo-US nuclear deal to fruition, the Congress and Left legislators clashed in Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday over the latter’s staunch opposition to the deal.

It all began when Congress MLA S Peter Alphonse, during a debate on women’s reservation, told CPI’s Balabharathy: “What do we do? We are dependent on your support (at the Centre); close your eyes and offer us unconditional support.”

Reacting to the comment, C Govindasamy of CPM claimed that the Congress would hand over the country to the United States, if not for the Left parties. “Whenever the Congress deviates from the Common Minimum Programme, it is the Left’s duty to oppose it,” he said.

The debate on the controversial deal had figured in the state Assembly last week also when Congress MLA M K Vishnu Prasad, son of PCC president M Krishnaswamy, commented that the Left was opposing the beneficial deal only because “it has an allergy to the US.” Those opposing it would accept in one day, he added, while speaking during a debate on demands for grants for the state electricity department on April 3.