THE STAND-OFF between Congress led UPA government and its ally, Left parties, over the Indo-US deal seems to be getting stretched as both Congress and Left have toughened their stand on the issue.

Left wants that the deal must be put on hold. It wants the UPA to renegotiate the deal with the US over the ‘objectionable clauses’, which according to Left if not properly addressed can pose a great threat to India’s security and we will have to compromise with the Indian strategic programme. While on the other hand UPA is not ready to go back on the deal. According to UPA the Indo-US nuclear deal is in India’s interest and can play a very important role in addressing India’s energy and security needs.

According to a recent poll conducted by The Times of India, 93 per cent of the people are in favour of Indo-US N-deal and want the UPA government to go ahead without any ‘fear’. While rest of the population are of the opinion that the deal will bind India to the US and it is against the sovereignty of India.

The battle between UPA and Left has taken a grim turn. As the PM in his statement had said that whatever Left wants to do they must do, if they want to withdraw the support, so be it, but it is not possible for the government to go back on the deal.

Speculations are being made that Left parties may withdraw support to the Congress. They have asked for a panel of experts to look into the issue of the nuclear deal and its future ramifications. But they have put a condition that meanwhile the negotiations with the IAEA and NSG must be put on hold, for which UPA is not ready. On the other hand BJP is demanding voting in the parliament on the issue. Seeing the brewing tension between UPA and Left, the BJP is also gearing up for the mid term polls.

If the deal is not in the interest of India and can have negative consequences and the Left is really concerned about it, it must withdraw its support. This way Congress will come in minority and deal will automatically get scrapped. Actually, there is a need of healthy discussion over the nuclear deal with the US. Members of the all political parties must sit together and take the decision unanimously. Be it is Left or opposition, rather than looking for their self interests, they should look for the interest of the country first. All the nitty-gritty’s must be carefully examined before going for this deal. There is also a widespread view that now the credibility of India is at stake and calling off the deal will isolate India globally. So the need of the hour is that all political parties should sit together and find out a solution. They must see that whether the deal is balanced or not. Nuclear deal is also crucial for meeting the energy security needs of India.