WAR.WIRE
India's communists put squeeze on govt over nuclear deal
 NEW DELHI, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2007
 India's communists stepped up the pressure on the minority Congress government on Thursday with a new threat to withdraw their support if it implements a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

The row over the pact, seen as the cornerstone of deeper ties with Washington, has left Premier Manmohan Singh facing his biggest test since taking power in 2004.

The latest warning came at the end of a two-day meeting of the central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), in New Delhi.

"We will withdraw support to the government if it goes ahead with operationalising the agreement," a statement by party leaders said.

"The Central Committee has endorsed the stand of the (policy-making) politburo in this regard and authorised it to take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time," the leaders said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The communists, who prop up the minority ruling coalition in parliament, have rejected the deal, saying it brings New Delhi too close to the United States and jeopardises India's strategic sovereignty.

Last week, the party told the Congress government it would face "serious consequences" if it chose to press ahead with the pact, threatening the government's survival.

The main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also rejected the accord, which seeks to bring India into the loop of global atomic commerce after a three-decade gap and give its burgeoning economy greater access to nuclear energy.

The Left has said it will be watching whether India "operationalises" the deal by opening talks next month in Vienna on an accompanying safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- the next step in implementing the pact.

The communists have said India's Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar can only attend the IAEA's General Assembly as a member of the IAEA board and not to launch negotiations.

The government has indicated it will push ahead with the deal.

It also on Wednesday solicited Japan's support in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group for the deal during an official visit to New Delhi by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The approval of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the sale of nuclear fuel and technology, is needed for the pact to go through.