Buddhadeb

Calcutta, July 17: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today told the Assembly that the Left was not against nuclear power but against the deal with the US as it would lead to Washington’s domination over India.

Participating in a motion on the deal moved by his CPM colleague Rabin Mondal, the chief minister said: “We are not against nuclear power, though it will be costlier than thermal or hydroelectric energy.”

“But we are vehemently opposed to the nuke deal as that will make our country subservient to US interests and help the latter establish its hegemony. This long-term Indo-US strategic partnership has to be prevented and we will do that both inside and outside Parliament,” he added.

Not many outside his party heard Bhattacharjee, though: Trinamul and Congress legislators had boycotted the House, saying the deal, a “national issue”, couldn’t be debated in the Assembly. The chief minister could only count as his audience Left Front MLAs and, briefly, the SUCI’s Debaprasad Sarkar.

On the criticism that the CPM was preparing to vote alongside the BJP in the July 22 trust vote, Bhattacharjee sought to make a distinction between the saffron party’s stand and that of the Left.

“It was the BJP that began work on the nuclear deal, which was taken forward by the Congress. I don’t think the BJP is anti-deal. It simply wants to topple the UPA government. But we are opposed to the deal to protect the country and its interests. Likening us to the BJP will be wrong’’.

Congress MLA Manas Bhuniya, speaking outside the House, dismissed the arguments, saying the CPM and the BJP were “united” in the topple mission.

“Developments in Delhi make it clear that the CPM and the BJP are united in (trying to) toppling the UPA government. All these years, the CPM talked foul of the BJP and backed the Congress. Now, the Leftists don’t have qualms about voting alongside the saffron party. We will expose the unholy nexus between the two parties.”

Bhuniya criticised today’s motion, saying the Assembly had taken up the nuke deal even before Parliament had discussed it. “The CPM moved the motion to convince Left MLAs that the Front and BJP’s goals are separate.”

Trinamul’s Saugata Roy said the front’s “political intention’’ behind tabling the motion was to get its “confused” legislators to rally against the deal.

“CPM MLAs are totally confused on how to face the electorate after their party votes in Parliament alongside the BJP.”