Karat condemns UPA's move to circulate safeguard draft to IAEA's Board of Governors
10 Jul 2008, 1510 Hrs

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New Delhi, July 10 (ANI): The Left party, which decided to part ways with the United Progressive Alliance government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, today criticized the Government's move of circulating the safeguard draft to the IAEA's Board of Governors for their approval without even proving its majority in the Lok Sabha.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat said it is strange that the government, which was asserting till Wednesday that the text of the draft was confidential, has now put it up on the Ministry of External Affairs website.

He wondered what prompted the Government to take such a move now breaching its promise.

On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had categorically said that Parliament would be taken into confidence before making such a move.

"The government's decision to go ahead with the nuclear deal is nothing but shocking betrayal of commitment to the country and the people," Karat added.

Karat pointed out that the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar had said on Wednesday that the draft was not yet final. He asked how could the government go ahead with it so fast?

"It is a shame for the Government that some US websites in the US had put the text up even before the MEA site," he added.

Karat said that Left parties intend to take all politically possible steps to stop the deal from going through. (ANI)