UPA left hanging as Left toughens stand on N-deal

TOUGH TALK: Sources say if the Government goes ahead with negotiations, it will mean the end of the Left support.

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New Delhi: The scene outside AKG Bhawan, the CPM headquarters, on Monday were reminiscent of May 2004, when the Left had to take the crucial decision of extending support to the UPA Government.

Three years on, the Left is faced with another crucial decision of whether or not to withdraw the support to the UPA over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

“The government should not go to IAEA,” says CPI leader D Raja.

Sources tell CNN-IBN that the Left will wait for a response from the Government till the scheduled IAEA meeting. But if the Government goes ahead with negotiations, it will mean the end of the Left support.

The crucial CPM Central Committee meeting is expected to endorse and authorise the Politburo to take any decision.

However, the only possible way out of the deadlock could be if the Government concedes ground, under pressure from UPA allies. Many allies are believed to be against the idea of mid-term polls.

And if indications from Government quarters are anything to go by, the UPA is in no mood to reschedule negotiations with the IAEA or the NSG and walk out of an international agreement which would mean serious loss of face for the government.

In the event of that happening, the Left is clear as well and says it will begin to finalise the separation plan.