Karat blames Manmohan’s bid to go to IAEA

“What is the cause for this ongoing crisis? The answer lies squarely in the Prime Minister’s renewed bid to go to the IAEA for seeking the approval of the Board of Governors on the text of the safeguards agreement,” he said in his first comments after the UPA-Left joint mechanism failed to break the logjam, pushing their ties to the brink.

Maintaining that there will be “no compromise” on the issue of Government approaching the IAEA board for approval of the India-specific safeguards agreement, the hardline Communist leader said it was an “essential step” for taking the nuclear deal forward and for operationalising the 123 Agreement.

After the virtual burial of the consultation mechanism, the Left is bracing for a break in ties with the ruling UPA as it feels that the Government is planning to approach the IAEA board to confirm the safeguards agreement.

Congress circles are already thinking about a scenario in which the Left parties part ways with the UPA Government but do not vote against the ruling coalition.

Karat referred to the UPA’s failed attempts to convince the Left that the IAEA approval would pave the way for nuclear cooperation with Russia and France, saying “nothing can be further from truth”. “It is posed as if the 123 agreement is off the agenda. Nothing can be further from the truth,” he said.

In unusually strong words against Singh, Karat, in an article in the latest issue of party mouthpiece People’s Democracy, accused his Government of being “obsessed with its vision of becoming a strategic partner of the US” at a time when the priority should be to tackle inflation.

“If the priorities of our country and the people are kept in mind, the Government should be engaged on a war footing to curb Inflation and price rise and take urgent measures to provide relief to the people. But the last fortnight has exposed what the priorities of the Government are,” he said.

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