Happy Birthday Yechury, says PM

JYOTI MALHOTRA

New Delhi, August 12, 2007 : The occasion of CPM leader Sitaram Yechury’s birthday today provided Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the perfect opportunity to take the edge off the tension between himself and the Left parties, with the PM calling the Left leader and wishing him all the best in the years ahead.

Having firmly reestablished his position, not only on the Indo-US nuclear deal, but also within the political spectrum – as a result of the national furore generated by his interview in The Telegraph over the weekend -- the PM clearly seemed to want to reach out to the Left, albeit from a position of strength.

In the wake of the interview, where he dared the Left to withdraw support from his government, Left leaders insisted again today they would not destabilise the government, even if they remained unhappy about the government’s growing embrace with the US.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram that the PM ``is very sensitive on the government's relations with the US. But this is not a matter of sensitivity alone. This is an issue of serious import.’’

However, highly placed sources confirmed that Yechury, who was in Andhra Pradesh today, will be meeting the PM in Delhi tomorrow. CPI leader D.Raja reiterated that the Left would not withdraw support to the UPA.

While the crisis seems to have blown over for the time being, the PM also seemed all set to make a ``factual’’ and not a ``political statement’’ on the nuclear deal when Parliament meets tomorrow. The sources said the PM did not want to exacerbate the crisis in any way.

The PM’s statement in both Houses will be made in the afternoon.

Under the circumstances, the PM will essentially reiterate the facts that have already been put out in the public domain about the 123 agreement by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and India’s top scientists like atomic chief Anil Kakodkar and R. Chidambaram.

First of all, the PM will state that the agreement meets all the requirements and addresses all the concerns of the House.

He will point out that the agreement is only about civilian nuclear energy issues between the two countries, how the US has agreed to make uninterrupted fuel supplies to India’s safeguarded, civil nuclear energy reactors, and how the US has even promised to commit alternate supplies from Russia, France and the UK in case the agreement has to cease due to ``unforeseen’’ circumstances.

He is expected to point to comments to his own August 17 statement on the nuclear deal, including by Sitaram Yechury, who had then said that if India’s top scientists ``were happy’’ with the deal, the Left would also be satisfied.

The PM’s statement will imply that India’s strategic independence will not be compromised and that the 123 agreement has nothing to do with India’s military programme. He is expected to leave that to the nuclear debate that will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Parliament.

ENDS