Left wants to know when, Cong in no hurry to tell

Though External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was set to reply shortly to the Left’s letter, official sources said the Government would not divulge the exact date of its next step on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Although the ruling camp sounded sure of securing a majority in Parliament with the help of the SP, the JD(S), the RLD and other minor parties in the event of the Left withdrawing support, it did not want to precipitate matters before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan for the G-8 summit. The issue came up for discussion at the Congress Core Group meeting on Friday evening.

With the SP spoiling their grand plans to pull down the Government, a desperate Left went into a huddle today and set a three-day deadline to the ruling coalition to spell out in clear terms whether it was proceeding to approach the IAEA Board.

The intention was to make the Government state whether and when it intended to approach the IAEA before the PM leaves for Japan where he will discuss the deal with US President George W Bush.

But minutes after setting the deadline, CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury gave a public statement saying the Left would not pull the plug until the Prime Minister returned. The reasoning: “We have always been considerate. We have kept the dignity of the Prime Minister’s office and the nation. We will not take any step when he (the Prime Minister) is there (at the G-8 summit).”

Yechury’s comments left the RSP fuming. “Why should we show the courtesy when the Government is not showing any,” a senior RSP leader asked.

The Left parties are likely to meet here on July 8, a day after the deadline expires to decide their future strategy. Since the Government is not planning to give away its exact plan, the Left will have to re-draw their game plan.

... contd.