Left sets deadline, but won't pullout when PM's in Tokyo

SHOWING THE RED FLAG: On Friday, CPI-M leader Prakash Karat gave the ultimatum to the UPA.

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Keywords: Samajwadi Party, Congress

New Delhi:The Samajwadi Party's support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government will be crucial when the Left decides to withdraw support.

Left has set a deadline of July 7 for the UPA Government to clarify whether it is going to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.

On Friday, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat gave the ultimatum to the Central Government.

"We wish to know definitely whether the government is proceeding to seek the approval of the Safeguards Agreement. Please let us know the position by July 7, 2008," Karat said.

It may well be the last ultimatum before the divorce is finalised. The deadline has been set for the day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Tokyo to attend the G8 summit.

But the assurance also coming through that bitterness in relations will not mean that basic courtesy is forgotten.

So the Left, contrary to earlier claims, will not pull the plug when Manmohan is in Tokyo.

Senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said, "We will keep the dignity of the country and the post of the Prime Minister in mind when he is on a tour abroad."

An early end game, however, is a certainty. Sources say the UPA Government will be aiming to making it to the IAEA Board of Governors scheduled to meet on September 7, which means the move will have to made by July 15.

The Prime Minister returns on July 9 and so the deal and the separation will be set in motion around next weekend.