Meet IAEA but no N-deal on menu, Left tells govt

GO AHEAD? Yechury said the CPI-M Central Committee would also discuss the issue.

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New Delhi: The Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M) on Tuesday said it was not against the government participating in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meet in Vienna next month but put a rider that there should not be any negotiations on the India-specific safeguards with regard to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Party leader Sitaram Yechury said after a meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee that CPI-M was not against India attending the Vienna meet as a member country of the IAEA, but in no case it should discuss the safeguards agreement.

Asked to respond to reports that Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar would be attending the IAEA meeting in mid-September, Yechury said his party would have no objection to India going and participating as a member country in the annual General Council meeting, as it does for UNICEF and UNESCO.

"But do not go ahead with negotiations on India-specific safeguards," he said adding "he (Kakodkar) should not negotiate".

As a member country participating in the General Council was a normal activity and every country does it, the CPI-M leader said.

Yechury said the CPI-M Central Committee, which would meet in the next two days, would also discuss the issue.

Asked whether any progress has been made on finalising a 'mechanism' to address the Left concerns, he said the government has spoken about a mechanism and "we have told them you do it, we will consider".

The CPI-M has said there were certain serious objections to the Hyde Act and unless those concerns were evaluated, government should not go ahead with operationalising the deal, Yechury said reiterating his party's stand.

Making light of a suggestion that the Left was opposing the nuclear deal to help China and Pakistan, he said "why should I react (to the suggestion)? I am for my country's sovereignty and I am reacting only for India and the Indian people".

Besides Yechury and Mukherjee, the meeting was also attended by Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi and CPI-M leader in Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharia.