Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Left withdraws, SP pledges support

NEW DELHI: Ending weeks of suspense, the Left parties on Tuesday announced withdrawal of support to the UPA over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared that government would "very soon" approach the IAEA to move forward on the deal, an upset Left said the "time has come" to pull the rug.

The four parties -- CPM, CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP-- have sought an appointment with President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday to submit their letter of withdrawal of support, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters after an hour-long meeting of leaders of these parties.

They have also asked the President to direct the Prime Minister to seek a trust vote to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha.

The Left parties in a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, copies of which were circulated to the media, made it clear that there was no point in going ahead with the proposed meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the deal on July 10 in view of PM's remarks. (Full text of Left's letter to Pranab)

Karat said that the Left will formally withdraw support on Wednesday.

NDA has called an emergency meeting of all its constituents tomorrow and even called all its Chief Ministers to Delhi for a meeting tomorrow.

SP to provide support to UPA govt over N-deal: Mulayam

Minutes after the Left announced its decision to withdraw support from UPA government, the Samajwadi Party held a press conference. Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that at his parliamentary party meeting, they have decided that his party will give unconditional support to the govt. ( Watch )

He also said that his party supports the nuclear deal, and would actually mobilise its members to tell people all over the benefits of the deal.

He also said that there were some apprehensions among some of their members over the deal, but they have all been allayed now. On being asked whether SP would join the government, he said a categorical No!.

Communal powers need to be tackled and unless they are tackled, the country would be divided into pieces. For SP, nation's unity is prime and we don’t want to play politics in this, said the SP chief.

We believe the nuke deal, after assurances from the former Prez APJ Abdul Kalam, is good for the country and we have decided to support the government on this deal.

Party's general secretary also lashed out at those who have given the deal an anti-Muslim tag, saying everybody is an Indian first, and then of any religion, and they all support the deal.

Every Samajwadi Party vote in Parliament will be cast in support of the Indo-US nuclear deal and to save the UPA government, said SP general secretary Amar Singh.

He further said that all 39 Samajwadi Party MPs would vote in favour of the government.

Amar Singh asked the Left parties not to vote along with BJP against the government.

Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav hoped that Left parties would not join communal forces in working against the UPA government.

Apparently avoiding burning bridges, Samajwadi Party refrained from commenting on the Left parties' withdrawal of support to the government and maintained that they respect the Left as they are secular.

"I respect them and I will keep respecting them in future. I will not utter a word against my colleagues in the Left," said SP General Secretary Amar Singh today after the SP Parliamentary Party meeting.

Singh said while the SP would be supporting the government for just for one year, the Left has supported the government for the last four years.

"They made the UPA and sustained it for four years. They should also be ready to get both the bouquets and brickbats for successes and failures of the UPA during the four years," the SP leader said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Left_withdraws_support_to_UPA/articleshow/3210483.cms

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