New Delhi
Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sunday hit out at the government's
Left allies for opposing the India-US civil nuclear deal -
signalling a parting of ways with them and possible early polls -
while the communists went on the defensive, saying the onus for
calling early polls would lay with the ruling coalition.
In remarks bound to further strain ties between the Congress and the
Left, Gandhi told a massive rally in Haryana's Jhajjar town that the
nuclear deal with the US was "necessary for the country to keep the
pace of development going".
"We have a proposal for a nuclear deal with the US. The deal is
necessary for the country to keep the pace of development going.
Power generation is important and central to our future requirements
if we want development to take place," Gandhi maintained.
Strongly defending the nuclear deal, she said that those opposing
the pact were against the country's development.
"Some people are trying to create obstacles in the country's path of
development. They are against development and peace both. You should
be on guard against them," she said.
"Those who have been creating hindrances in the implementation of
development programmes were enemies of not only the Congress
government but also of the common people. Therefore, such elements
should be given a befitting reply."
The Left bloc led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is
the most vocal critic of the India-US deal. The communists say the
pact will make India a junior partner to the US in strategic and
foreign affairs.
Gandhi's outburst put the communists on the defensive.
"The Congress has made up its mind. The Congress will be responsible
for forcing early elections on the country," said Communist Party of
India general secretary A.B. Bardhan.
"We never said that we wanted to pull down the government.
Otherwise, we would have never been in the (UPA-Left nuclear)
committee," he said.
The Left has warned of "serious consequences" if the government
makes the nuclear deal operational. A withdrawal of support by the
Left would reduce the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government to a minority in the Lok Sabha, leading to possible early
general elections.
A 15-member UPA-Left committee formed to address the Left concerns
has held three meetings but there are no signs that the standoff
between the two sides would be resolved.
Gandhi's speech in Hindi in a town some 130 km from New Delhi came
even as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met West Bengal
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu
in Kolkata, apparently to discuss the dragging Congress-Left
differences over the nuclear deal.
Gandhi, who spoke after laying the foundation stone for a 1,500 MW
super thermal power plant, said the nuclear deal was necessary for
the country's future power requirements.
Gandhi's outburst is seen as a clear indication of an imminent
parliamentary poll. In a chat with media persons Saturday Gandhi
said that her party was ready to face a snap poll.
She patted the Manmohan Singh government for the nuclear deal and
for initiating welfare schemes for the people, especially women and
the poor, in the period it has been in office since May 2004.
Gandhi also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for raking up
objections to the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project in the sea
between India and Sri Lanka.
"Politics is being done in the name of Lord Ram. I hope the issue is
resolved amicably," she said.
"The Congress has equal respect for all religions," she added, while
greeting the people for the forthcoming festival season.
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