FATE OF INDO-U.S. NUCLEAR DEAL HANGS IN BALANCE

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) - Ahead of Wednesday's U.P.A.-Left
meet on Indo-U.S. nuclear deal issue, there were little signs
of a forward movement with top leaders of the ruling alliance,
including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, having made a strong
pitch for the agreement while Left parties making clear their
continued opposition to it.

With the political stalemate on the deal deepening in the
face of stiff deadlines, Singh has said the civil nuclear
cooperation with the U.S. was crucial for ending nuclear
apartheid against India.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi too spoke in favour of
the agreement saying it was key to fight price rise, a major
headache of the United Progressive Alliance government,
triggered by unabated spiralling of international crude oil
prices and food grains.

"Nuclear energy has gained much importance in view of
steep crude oil prices in the world," she said at a rally in
Guwahati terming escalating prices as the "biggest challenge"
before the country.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, government's
pointsman on matters relating to the nuclear deal, made a
strong case for nuclear power terming it as the "most potent
means" to achieve long-term energy security.

The Left parties, however, maintained their opposition to
the deal with the U.S. The Communist Party of India (Marxist)
suggested that it was not opposed to a safeguards agreement
with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Our objection is not with I.A.E.A. Our objection is with
the 123 agreement (for operationalising the deal), which
according to us is very deeply anchored in the Hyde Act (of
the U.S.)," C.P.I.(M.) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury had
said.

Despite the stiff opposition to the deal from the Left
parties, the Prime Minister has maintained that the deal will
open up new possibilities of cooperation not only with the
U.S. but also with other nuclear powers like Russia and
France.

Mukherjee appeared to be blunt in his remarks favouring
the nuclear deal. "We are not going for nuclear power for fun
but to meet the power requirement," he said at a meeting with
the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata in the presence
of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Notwithstanding the statements from the top leaders of
the ruling alliance, the C.P.I.(M.) insisted that it has
apprehensions with regard to the deal and will give its nod
only when these are addressed.

Communist Party of India General Secretary A. B. Bardhan
said the deal is a pretext by the U.S. to make India its
"outpost" in the region to check the growth of China.

The U.P.A.-Left committee, set up in November last year
to resolve the differences between government and Left allies
over the nuclear deal, will meet on June 18 to discuss whether
the government should go ahead with signing the safeguards
agreement with I.A.E.A.

The government hopes to get the go-ahead from the Left to
comlpete the safeguards agreement and seek waiver from the
Nuclear Suppliers Group from its guidelines to participate in
international atomic trade. The two steps are required to
operationalise the nuclear deal.