UPA buys time, Left is happy to oblige

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government appeared to have received a temporary reprieve on Tuesday with its Left allies agreeing to continue discussions over the India-US nuclear deal, apparently after being assured that there would be no formal talks with the IAEA.

After the fourth meeting of the UPA-Left nuclear committee on Tuesday, the Left leaders said the government had agreed not to hold any India-specific talks with the visiting International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Mohamed ElBaradei who is meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.

On the PM’s meeting with ElBaradei’s, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, “Guest is like God.”

Yechury said the Left has told the government that there should be no official forward movement with IAEA. “The government has given us an assurance and the Left parties are going by the understanding that the Committee formed to evaluate the nuclear deal and its impact will give its findings, only after which the government will take further steps.”

After Tuesday’s meeting at the South Block, both sides agreed to meet on October 22 to continue discussions over the contentious deal.

Emerging from the meeting, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad thumbed his nose at waiting journos and said, “This government will survive. I will present the next Rail Budget. The meeting went off very well.”

Source: mumbaimirror.com