A window to a possible reconciliation between the Left and the UPA over the contentious nuclear issue seemed in the air on Thursday, even as the government momentarily suffered a setback in the wake of a statement by the US state department that the 123 agreement would be terminated if India conducted a nuclear test.
The government was forced to come out with a reaffirmation in Parliament that it had not surrendered its right to conduct nuclear tests.
Allaying concerns voiced by the Left and the Opposition, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that ?India has the sovereign right to test and would do so if it is necessary in national interest.? Mukherjee added that ?There is nothing in the agreement that would tie the hands of a future government or legally constrain its options.? The clarification was made following Opposition and Left protests over reports quoting US state department spokesperson Sean McCormack . Mukherjee said the ?Only restraint is our voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing, declared by the previous (NDA) government.? The pandemonium caused by the Left and the Opposition members led to adjournment of both Houses of Parliament without transacting any business.
But, signs were there on Thursday that the Left could drop their resistance if the government came up with solutions that would address concerns raised by them. Such hints came following a meeting between Mukherjee and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, in which the latter was understood to have conveyed that the government?s negotiations with the IAEA and NSG should focus on eliminating the apprehensions voiced by the Left.
Government managers, too, suggested that ways were being pursued to end the logjam. ?There is no danger to this government,? parliamentary affairs minister PR Dasmunsi said.
