NEW DELHI, 24 August 2007 — Taking tougher stand against prospects of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) pursuing the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) yesterday threatened withdrawal of support if the Congress pursued the deal.

“We will withdraw support to the government if it goes ahead with the agreement. The central committee (of CPI-M) has endorsed the stand of the politburo in this regard and authorized it to take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time,” the CPI-M leaders said following conclusion of their two-day meeting.

Describing the deal as “unacceptable,” the party general secretary Prakash Karat said: “We don’t want this crisis to affect the government. However, if they decide to go ahead with the deal then the future of the government will lie in its own hands.”

The UPA should all allay all apprehensions on the Hyde Act and there should be a debate in the Parliament, Karat said. The Left was open to any mechanism that the government may set up to look into the Hyde Act, he said.

“All we are asking from the government is to press the pause button. It should properly evaluate all the implications before proceeding further,” Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said.

The left parties have also clearly said that they would announce their plans regarding the future of their ties with UPA only after the government gives a statement on the deal.

Analysts said the party seemed to be playing for more time and looking for a way out of the crisis, adding that a decision to end support for the government was not imminent.

Even if the government presses ahead with the deal, it would not necessarily bring the government down. The left could withdraw its formal support but might not vote against the government in a confidence motion.

The deal will allow India to buy nuclear fuel and reactors from the US — and eventually other countries — even though it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and has tested nuclear weapons.

But the communists, as well as the opposition Hindu nationalists, say it compromises India’s sovereignty, with the left parties also saying it imposes American hegemony.

Neither the ruling Congress nor the communists are keen to face voters at the moment, but the rift could force elections next year, ahead of their schedule in 2009, analysts say.

Some communists fear that the party’s parliamentary strength could be badly hit by anger among its core supporters in the stronghold state of West Bengal over the state government’s move to take farmland for industries. The party is also riven by infighting in its other stronghold state of Kerala in the south.

The left has asked the government not to go ahead with negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) next month to conclude a key safeguards agreement until all its concerns over the deal are addressed. But the government has refused to give in.

During CPI-M central committee’s meeting, Karat submitted politburo’s report on the deal. Karat also apprised the members of his meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to resolve the crisis.

The CPI-M central committee is expected to meet again in mid-September. The national executive of Communist Party of India (CPI) will meet in the coming week to consider the issue. In addition, the left parties plan to hold nationwide agitation from Sept. 1-16 projecting the negative impact of the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Indo-US strategic alliance.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, remains confident of being able to ride over this crisis. The preceding day, while addressing a joint press conference with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, Manmohan expressed hope that Japan will support India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). “It is my sincere hope that when it comes up at NSG, we will have the support of Japan,” Manmohan said.