Parlimentary Farce as Comradors Press Hard to Save Indo US Nuke Deal
Zionist CPIM is More Worried of Muslim Vote Bank, Investment
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Taslima writing sequel to 'Lajja'
Deccan Herald - 10 hours ago
"Sharam, the sequel of Lajja (Shame), has the principal characters of the first novel who came over to India from Bangladesh in 1993 and is set in the backdrop here," Taslima said.
Clarify doubts, evaluate Hyde Act, Karat tells government : India"Karat said many of the provisions under the Hyde Act that impinge on nuclear cooperation with India were not mentioned in the bilateral text. " ...
www.nerve.in/news:25350081056 -
united states india peaceful atomic energy cooperation act
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h5682enr.txt.pdf
see also:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topics/Henry+Hyde
Complete Coverage: The Indo-US nuclear tango
http://in.rediff.com/news/nukedeal05.html
Zionist Left opposes the Asian Nato, strategic regrouping in the Indian Ocean Region and inclusion of this subcontinent including Indian geopolitics in the US war against terrorism just to save its Muslim Vote Bank whoch is responsible for the prolonged Left rule in West Bengal for Long Thirty Years. Losing Muslim enblock votes means end of Left Elecrtrol future anywhere in India including Bengal. For which they dropped the Nandigram PCPIR and tolerated Dalit Muslim Insurrection till this date! For which they fail to initiate any action against those who openly declare death fatwa against Bangladeshi exiled writer Taslima Nasrin.
What a parliamentary farce is this like the Genitial Racket exposed in shantiniketan! Shantiniketan Don , the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee saved the GOI from being pulled down by majority protesting the deal. He quoted sovereignity of the Cabinet! GOI says that the text of 123 Agreement is freezed !And see,
there has been a complete turnaround in attempts to tide over the crisis between the UPA and Left! The Left on Sunday made it clear that there is no room for compromise on the Indo-US nuclear deal! Sources in the Left have told CNN-IBN that the party would give the government four months time to withdraw from the deal! Opening a possible window of opportunity to end the stand-off with the Left on the nuclear issue, a beleaguered UPA Government on Sunday night proposed the constitution of a special committee, comprising representatives from the Left and scientists, to study the implications of the Hyde Act. The Left Front parties will meet on Monday to weigh the new proposal.
Crisis managers were at work Sunday to find a way to resolve the political deadlock over the India-US nuclear deal as the Left parties appeared ready to give Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government time to work out a mechanism to address their concerns.
Senior Left leader Sitaram Yechury Sunday met Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee who, along with senior leaders A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel, is trying to hammer out a compromise formula.
Emerging from Mukherjee's residence, Yechury told waiting reporters: "The implications of the Hyde Act (the US law governing the 123 agreement) are very serious. Unless all the aspects of the Hyde Act are considered and deliberated, the government should not go ahead with making any commitment to the IAEA."He of course left it to the government to decide the next course saying, "It is for the government to decide what course it takes."
Devil's Advocate: 123 Deal sell out to US, says Yechury
Karan Thapar / CNN-IBN
Published on Sunday , August 19, 2007 at 20:13 in Nation section
Are the Left parties truly opposed to the 123 Agreement or is it just a posture? Karan Thapar quizzes CPI-M politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury on the Left’s problems with the nuclear deal in an exclusive interview on the Devil’s Advocate.
Karan Thapar: The Left parties have asked the Prime Minister not to operationalise the 123 Agreement. The Prime Minister in response has said: “We cannot go back on the deal.” And he has told you to do whatever you want, including withdrawing support if you should so choose. So what will you do?
Sitaram Yechury : The question is not about us supporting or not supporting. The issue is the operationalising of the nuclear deal. We have told the Prime Minister what our concerns are and why we think that the deal is not in India’s interest, so it should not be operationalised.
Karan Thapar : If operationalising the deal is your key concern rather than withdrawing support, then I shall put it you that the deal is in fact not going to be operationalised until the US Congress ratifies it and until India and America sign on the dotted line. And that being the case, if you withdraw support, then you can stop the operationalisation. Are you prepared to do that or not?
Sitaram Yechury : According to the Indian Constitution, once an international agreement has been arrived upon, there is no need for Parliament’s ratification.
Karan Thapar : But it has not been arrived upon. It will only be arrived upon when they sign it and only if the US Congress ratifies it. So if you don’t want it to be arrived upon, then you have the power to stop it? Will you withdraw support or not?
Sitaram Yechury : No. Withdrawing support will not guarantee the stopping of it, because any future government and the alternative that we have had with the BJP, they are the ones who started the entire strategic alliance or partnership with the US.
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/devils-advocate-123-deal-sell-out-to-us-says-yechury/47107-3.html
It is not National Intersestwhich worries the ruling Brahminical class at all. They happen to be busy to calculate on Election mathemetics as every political party is afraid of a mid term election underprepared. Then, the commitments to the desi and foreign MNCs and heavy investment involved as in West Bengal and Maharashtra, Gujrat and Karnatak. May be they would like to change the prime ministre and perhaps US would also like a New comrador Face in leadership. May be - Pranab Mukherjee! Mukherjee and Buddhadeb are pressing hard to save the Deal and all Bengali brahmins allign as they have to save the brahminical hegemony countrywide!
Dalit muslim equation worries the ruling Classes most as terming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati as a "dictator", Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today alleged she was "minting money to expand her political network in the country." On the other hand,the Election Commission on Sunday said the process of delimitation of constituencies is almost complete except some northeastern states and it was up to the centre to decide when to implement it.
In order to find a way out on the stand off with Left parties on the civil nuclear deal with the US, UPA constituents after holding a meeting on Sunday evening passed a resolution to form a committee that would include Left leaders. The resolution also offered to hold dialogue with the Left while fully backing the Prime Minister?s stand.
The UPA has formed a seven-member committee headed by Shyam Saran to resolve the crisis. The resolution has decided that the nuke deal will be operationalised only after the US passes it.
Armed with this compromise formula, the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi sent her emissary that includes Defence Minister A K Antony to the Left leaders.
Ahead of the UPA deliberations, a meeting of the Congress core group was held in the evening. The core group, headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, includes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil, A K Antony and political secretary to Sonia, Ahmed Patel. The core group meeting is understood to have discussed the suggestion by CPI(M) that a mechanism be set up to study the implications of the Henry Hyde Act on the sovereignty of the country.
Yesterday, the Left parties had served an ultimatum to the government on the civil nuclear deal warning it of "serious consequences" if it was operationalised.
In order to find a way out on the stand off with Left parties on the civil nuclear deal with the US, UPA constituents after holding a meeting on Sunday evening passed a resolution to form a committee that would include Left leaders. The resolution also offered to hold dialogue with the Left while fully backing the Prime Minister?s stand.
The UPA has formed a seven-member committee headed by Shyam Saran to resolve the crisis. The resolution has decided that the nuke deal will be operationalised only after the US passes it.
Armed with this compromise formula, the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi sent her emissary that includes Defence Minister A K Antony to the Left leaders.
Ahead of the UPA deliberations, a meeting of the Congress core group was held in the evening.
Meanwhile, Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister N D Tiwari was on Sunday appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh as the government carried out a reshuffle of governors of eight states. Senior Congress leader Tiwari (82), who lost the Uttarakhand polls earlier this year, was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh in place of Rameshwar Thakur, who was holding additional charge of the State.
The core group, headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, includes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil, A K Antony and political secretary to Sonia, Ahmed Patel.
The core group meeting is understood to have discussed the suggestion by CPI(M) that a mechanism be set up to study the implications of the Henry Hyde Act on the sovereignty of the country.
Yesterday, the Left parties had served an ultimatum to the government on the civil nuclear deal warning it of "serious consequences" if it was operationalised.
The CPI-M suggested the setting up of a mechanism to evaluate the implications of the Hyde Act of the US on the country's sovereignty but ruled out any ‘compromise formula’ to resolve its stand-off with the Government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel as part of efforts to find a way out of the situation created by the Left's ultimatum not to operationalise the deal. However, as efforts to tackle the crisis continue, it seems that the UPA allies are not in favour of mid-term polls.During his meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, RJD chief Lalu Yadav assured the Congress of his full support and clearly said that they don't want elections now.The NCP's Sharad Pawar has also made it clear while talking to Sonia Gandhi that he will stay with the UPA and doesn't want mid-term polls.He is also not opposed to the nuclear deal. As for the DMK, the party wants a compromise so that the government survives.
Government sources have informed NDTV that a committee of experts has been proposed to examine the concerns of the Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear deal.According to sources, members of the Left, diplomats and Shyam Saran, special envoy to PM on the nuclear deal, will be part of the committee.
With regard to a debate in Parliament, sources have informed that it is likely to be held on August 27-29, and that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee may address the Parliament.Moreover, the content of that address will be discussed with the Left beforehand.In addition, sources have also informed that the government has contacted the US State Department regarding the deal.
All through Sunday, the Left and the Congress Party have been exploring the possibility of a compromise formula on their disagreement on the deal.
Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel met with Left leaders, as both the parties worked at the creation of a mechanism to study the Hyde Act.Mukherjee has said the government is confident of addressing Left's concerns on issues of national interest and that the UPA constituents have full faith in the leadership of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi Earlier in the day, the Left said that they are open to a mechanism to study the Hyde Act.
''Left concerns need to be evaluated before the government proceeds on IAEA safeguards. Government must decide what mechanism they would like to address our concerns with,'' said Sitaram Yechury, CPI (M) Politburo member.
Congress sources had also asserted that while the nuclear deal cannot be reversed, there should be no problem in creating a committee or group to study the Hyde Act.
But while the CPI(M) said that the current crisis can be resolved if their concerns are met, CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan has reasserted that they will stick to their position on the nuclear deal and it does not matter to them whether the government stays or not.
Left parties will be meeting on Monday to further discuss their stand on the issue.While it could be a bargaining chip vis-à-vis the United States, but the noises emanating from China suggest that the India-US civil nuclear deal could face a veto from Beijing at the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG). The Chinese haven't exactly come out with a formal position, but the State-run People's Daily newspaper, which reflects official thinking, has slammed the Indo-US civil nuclear initiative. In any case, the Chinese would prefer not to reveal their hand publicly before a special NSG meeting, which will have to be convened by the US since India is not a member of the Group.
Washington, the People's Daily wrote on Tuesday, had double standards on the "nuclear issue of India" and had sent a signal to the world which eroded its authority in the international arena, undermined the "existing non-proliferation system" and damaged global efforts towards non-proliferation.
Given that all decisions at the 45-nation NSG are taken by consensus, the Chinese could create major problems in the path of allowing nuclear commerce with India.
In fact, the nuclear deal clearing the NSG is critical for India. If the deal gets the green signal from the NSG, then India will be free to buy nuclear reactors and fuel from any of the 45 countries.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government is struggling to weather its worst crisis as communist allies threaten to end support, and even if the coalition scrapes through its stability is likely to be badly dented.Either way, analysts say the crisis will shake some investor confidence in one of the world's fastest growing economies and raise political risk at a time Indian markets are already reeling under the impact of global credit worries.The crisis -- triggered by the opposition of the left parties to a historic civilian nuclear cooperation deal between India and the United States -- was initially considered to be mere anti-American posturing by the communists.But with Singh refusing to give in and daring the communists to withdraw the support of their 60 MPs in parliament, the confrontation has deteriorated into a battle of political egos, analysts said.
"I don't think we have reached a point of no return," said B.G. Verghese, a political analyst at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research. "But we are on the edge."
The communists, who now have the most lawmakers in parliament in their history, could never hope to better that performance and would therefore not want to push for an election, he said.
"But you never know. They also have their extremists and adventurists who may want to go for the brink," Verghese added.
The communists -- made of four parties in parliament -- have been critical of the government's growing friendship with Washington and opposed the nuclear deal, saying it hurts India's sovereignty and draws it into the U.S.'s strategic embrace.
Centre asks states to clear air on pending SEZs
The Centre has given an ultimatum to the states to clear the backlog of pending SEZ proposals by August 23, failing which it may scrap over 170 applications.
"We have asked the state governments to decide on the SEZ proposals that have been pending with them for more than six months," a government official said.
States have been asked to revert to the Centre by August 23 on the status of pending SEZs. "If we do not get their reply by that date, we may scrap these proposals," he said.
There are 268 proposals pending with Commerce Ministry, which can go to the Board of Approval only after they are approved by state governments. Of these, there are about 170 cases on which state governments' response is awaited.
Although the SEZ Rules require the promoters to get the state clearance before the proposals are taken up by the BoA, many of the applications are sent directly to the Centre.
This way the promoters try and speed up the process of clearance both at the central and state level. Applications for formal approvals can be taken up only if the promoters have land in possession. The government has so far given formal approval to 364 proposals and in-principle nod to 180 other. This takes the total number of clearances to about 550.
Violence in Singur, 2 policemen injured
Singur: Two policemen were injured when police forces tried to prevent members of a group opposing the setting up of a Tata Motors car factory here from scaling the plant's wall on Sunday.
Hooghly's Superintendent of Police Rajesh Mishra said DSP Pradeep Biswas and another policeman were injured when the members of the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee threw brickbats at them.
KJRC convenor Bacharam Manna claimed that three of its members were injured in a baton-charge by police.
Mishra said the KJRC members tried to scale the wall at Bagemelia, Gopalnagar and Bosepukur during heavy rains but the policemen prevented them from doing so.
Joined by fate: Bengal village & deal
- Future of state’s first nuclear power station depends on Indo-US agreement
G.S. MUDUR
Will Haripur ever look like this? The Tarapur nuclear power station near Mumbai
New Delhi, Aug. 18: The future of Haripur — a village in East Midnapore district in Bengal picked as a potential site for the eastern region’s first nuclear power station — may well hinge on the fate of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Haripur is among three candidate sites on the east coast that a site selection committee has identified as suitable for the establishment of nuclear power stations capable of delivering 6,000MW to 9,600MW of power.
The two other sites are Patisonapur in Orissa and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. A senior Nuclear Power Corporation official said that another site, Mithiverdi in Gujarat on the west coast, had also been shortlisted.
“These sites have been selected as part of advance planning for the possibility of the import of light water reactors through foreign co-operation,” Sudhinder Thakur, the executive director of the NPC, told The Telegraph.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070819/asp/nation/story_8209809.asp
The CPI-M suggested the setting up of a mechanism to evaluate the implications of the Hyde Act of the US on the country's sovereignty but ruled out any ‘compromise formula’ to resolve its stand-off with the Government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.On the other hand, BJP called for political solidarity against the government over the India-US nuclear deal as it asked the Left to choose between power and national interest and withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA government. With the Left issuing an ultimatum on the Indo-US nuclear deal, a meeting of the UPA leaders is being held on Sunday to decide ways and means to tackle the situation which has caused a crisis for the three-year-old government. The meeting is part of the consultations the top Congress leadership has initiated with allies to find a way out of the situation at a time when the key outside supporters are saying that the minimum they expected was non-operationalisation of the deal.
US stand
Meanwhile, US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns has said the nuclear pact with India could not be renegotiated.
''We cannot renegotiate it because the agreement is done. Neither government wishes it to be renegotiated because it is now complete,'' said Burns told Outlook magazine in an interview published over the weekend.
The agreement will allow New Delhi to buy atomic fuel, technology and plants even though it is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but critics say it would limit India's strategic options.
The agreement, reached on July after nearly two years of negotiations, has drawn heavy criticism from both the opposition parties and the government's Left allies.
And the Left, reacting to the BJP's charge that it was not serious in its opposition to the nuclear deal, has said it will have no truck with the BJP, calling it an imperialist party.
Seizing the opportunity, the BJP on Sunday said that the government is paralyzed and mid-term elections are imminent. Senior leaders of the NDA will be meeting on Monday to discuss their course of action.
''Senior NDA leaders will meet tomorrow to discuss NDA's strategy in Parliament in relation to the nuclear deal. In view of the current political situation in the country, there seems to be a possibility of mid-term polls,'' said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP Leader.
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN writes in the telegraph:
The Congress is determined to stand by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the face of the Left ultimatum, and till this evening was not inclined to freeze the International Atomic Energy Agency negotiations.
However, pressure from allies, with whom talks are on, may force the party to halt the IAEA parleys — the first of three steps before the Indo-US nuclear deal can come into force.
Manini Chatterjee wrote more appropriately in the Telegraph, Kolkata:
Plunging the UPA government into its worst-ever crisis since it came to power, the Left today unleashed the first step of a three-stage missile by formally asking Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi not to “proceed further” with the Indo-US nuclear agreement — a euphemism that spells the end of the deal.
Even as the Congress core committee went into a huddle and the party’s crisis managers started confabulating with key allies such as RJD chief Lalu Prasad and DMK boss M. Karunanidhi, the Left decided to sit back and wait for the Congress/UPA response before ushering in the second stage of its strategy.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070819/asp/frontpage/story_8210174.asp
Telegraph reports:
The CPM has called an emergency central committee meeting on August 22-23 to discuss its course of action on the nuclear deal controversy, where leaders from Bengal are expected to argue against a “hasty decision”.
The session has been called to resolve differences that surfaced in the politburo meeting which ended today, sources in the Bengal CPM claimed. But Delhi sources suggested that the meeting was called because the issue is so huge.
The Bengal CPM is against withdrawing support to the government, which was threatened with “serious consequences” over the nuclear deal by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today.
“Our objective is to change the government’s nuclear policy. As for the question of withdrawing support, there has been no decision,” politburo member and state secretary Biman Bose said at Calcutta airport on his return from Delhi.
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who returned on the same flight, declined comment.
The Bengal CPM has a bigger say in the central committee than in the politburo. Bose and Bhattacharjee were the lone leaders from the state at the Delhi meeting after ill-health kept Jyoti Basu, 93, at home.
Bengal’s strength in the 17-member politburo has fallen from five to three after the deaths of then state secretary Anil Biswas and Citu general secretary Chittabrata Mazumdar. In the central committee, however, the state CPM has 15-16 members — about a fourth of the panel’s strength.
Bose was closeted with Basu at the former chief minister’s Salt Lake home for nearly an hour tonight to brief him on the politburo meeting. Basu is learnt to have told him the party should avoid any “hasty decision” on the matter of reviewing its support to the Centre.
Sources close to Basu said foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government’s chief trouble-shooter, had requested the CPM patriarch to intervene. Basu is expected to talk to Karat in a day or two.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070819/asp/nation/story_8209027.asp
And see what Praksah karat writes in the Telgraph:
Problem is alliance with America, nuclear or not
PRAKASH KARAT
The Indo-US bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation is in the eye of a political storm. The UPA government’s announcement of the conclusion of the agreement has led to a political crisis.
It may be difficult for ordinary people to grasp the implications of the nuclear agreement with all its technical aspects and intricacies. The supply of nuclear fuel, the fuel cycle, the enrichment and reprocessing technologies and the safeguards agreement are all not within the knowledge of lay people. Without going into the complex issues concerning nuclear cooperation, one way to understand and assess the agreement is to ask: does this agreement advance India’s interests, does it protect our capacity for an independent foreign policy and sovereignty? Is this an agreement only on nuclear cooperation or is it part of a wider agreement?
Firstly, the nuclear cooperation deal is only one part of the wide-ranging alliance that the UPA government has forged with the United States. This was spelt out by the Indian Prime Minister and the American President in the joint statement in July 2005 in Washington. This agreement covers political, economic, military and nuclear cooperation. This alliance entails not just nuclear cooperation but talks of the two countries promoting global democracy, revamping the Indian economy to facilitate large-scale investment by the United States and a strategic military collaboration.
Prior to the joint statement of July 2005, the UPA government signed a 10-year Defence Framework Agreement with the United States. It is evident that without the defence agreement, the Americans would not have agreed to the nuclear cooperation. This is part of a quid pro quo.
Even before the nuclear cooperation agreement was finalised, the government began to tune its foreign policy to the strategic alliance with the United States. The United States held India’s attitude to Iran to be a test. India responded by voting against Iran not once, but twice, in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The first serious conflict with the Left arose when the UPA government did a volte-face on the Iran nuclear issue. The government voted along with the US and the western countries in September 2005 and was not even prepared to go along with the position adopted by the bloc of Non-Aligned Movement countries.
The Left parties have been watching with disquiet the way the UPA government has gone about forging close strategic and military ties with the United States. The Left came out in strong opposition to the Defence Framework Agreement. As per the agreement, India is taking steps to interlock our armed forces with that of the United States in the name of “inter-operability”. The framework agreement is leading to various steps like the Logistics Support Agreement and the Maritime Cooperation Pact.
The Left has been vehemently opposed to the joint military exercises as the one that took place in the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. These exercises were held despite the strong protests of the Left parties and the Left Front government of West Bengal. The years 2005 to 2007 have seen a sharp increase in joint exercises between the two armed forces. This is now being extended to the “quadrilateral” exercises as desired by the US with Japan and Australia in the September naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal.
Following in the footsteps of the previous BJP government, the UPA government has been deepening collaboration with Israel in the military and security spheres which violates our long-held policy of support to the Palestinian cause and friendship with the Arab countries.
The major pitch being made for the nuclear cooperation agreement is that it will help India meet its energy needs. This ignores the very limited contribution that nuclear power makes to our overall energy generation which is just 3 per cent and which cannot exceed 7 per cent even if the ambitious plans for expansion are implemented in the next 25 years. To make India’s foreign policy and strategic autonomy hostage to the potential of nuclear energy does not make sense except for the American imperative to bind India to its strategic designs in Asia.
The bilateral agreement with the United States is going to be governed on the American side by the legislation passed in the US Congress called the Hyde Act. The Hyde Act expects India to have a foreign policy “congruent” to the United States. Every year, the US President will be reporting to the US Congress on how India is complying with the provisions set out in the Hyde Act. Though the Indian government says the Hyde Act provisions are not binding on India, it is binding on the future Presidents of the United States.
After the Hyde Act was adopted in December 2006, the CPI(M) had, analysing the American legislation, stated that it contains provisions which are contrary to the assurances given by the Prime Minister to Parliament on August 17, 2006. The CPI(M) had repeatedly asked the government not to proceed with the bilateral negotiations for the 123 Agreement, till this matter was cleared up. But the government did not heed this advice, too.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070819/asp/nation/story_8209746.asp
Meanwhile, Strategic partners India and Japan will discuss the possibility of cooperation in the civil nuclear field and enhancement of defence ties when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe undertakes a visit here next week. During Abe's three-day visit beginning on Tuesday, the two countries will unveil a roadmap for future ties to provide a new dimension to the "strategic and global partnership" established last year.
"This time we are targeting to produce a new dimension to the strategic and global partnership which was agreed last December during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo," Japanese Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki said. He said the two leaders will exchange views on the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.
The discussions will take place in the backdrop of Japan's indication to explore possibility of having a civil nuclear cooperation with India under "appropriate safeguards". During Singh's visit to Tokyo, Japan had agreed to discuss the issue of civil nuclear cooperation with India.
"This all depends on the process now under way. Once NSG accepts new international consensus regarding to India, I think Japan will proceed in line with international consensus," Enoki said.
"If NSG accepts exceptional treatment of India in relation to its access to nuclear technology and fuel. That will generate more promising room for us to cooperate," the envoy said.
Soon after the Left ultimatum, top brass of Congress including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi had held 90 minute deliberations at the Congress core group meeting on Saturday.The Left parties, which have given an ultimatum to the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, plan to meet among themselves on Monday to take stock of the situation.
Sources said the meeting tomorrow evening will study the expected government response on the Left position against operationalising the civilian nuclear deal with the US as conveyed by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday. Karat had conveyed the united Left stand on the issue, saying government would have to face serious consequences if it went ahead with implementing the deal.
CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel as part of efforts to find a way out of the situation created by the Left's ultimatum not to operationalise the deal. After the 30-minute parleys, Yechury said he was asked to clarify a part of the statement issued by the politburo on Saturday, which he said clearly states that the government should not take the next step of negotiating a safeguards agreement with the IAEA till all objections to the deal are considered and the implications of the Hyde Act are evaluated.
"How to get clarity on these issues -- there has to be some
