The Left parties indicated they did not intend to climb down from their principled opposition to the nuclear deal. They stressed that their objections to the US Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement had not changed, and posted further queries for the government.
The UPA urged the Left to allow finalisation of a safeguards agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mr Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister’s special envoy, said the government will continue to “persuade” its Left allies.
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee read out a brief statement after the talks ended. “In-depth discussions were held on the India-specific safeguards agreement between India and the IAEA. The Left parties have sought further clarifications which will be provided in the next few days,” he said in the presence of CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury.
Emerging from the 90minute talks, All-India Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas told reporters that the Left had sought further clarifications after the UPA asked the Left to give a go-ahead to it to get the approval of the IAEA’s board of governors for the India-specific safeguards agreement.
The IAEA board of governors will meet in Vienna from June 2 to 6. “They cannot move ahead without our clearance and we have sought some more clarifications,” Mr Biswas said. The clarifications are understood to have centred around uninterrupted fuel supply, full civil nuclear cooperation, the issue of reciprocity and implications of the Hyde Act on India’s foreign and security policies. Mr Biswas said the Left parties did not have as much problem with the India-specific safeguards pact as the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement.