New Delhi: The Left parties have informed about their objections on certain issues relating to the Indo-US nuclear deal to the UPA government, which would brief the outside supporters today on the deliberations at the IAEA over an India-specific safeguards agreement.

Ahead of the eighth meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on the nuclear deal today, the ruling coalition had briefed the Left leadership on "some major issues" relating to the safeguards agreement, which were discussed at the IAEA.

The Left parties had reverted back with their opinions and objections, senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters here. "At this stage, we don't formally know whether any text (of a safeguards agreement) has been finalised.

If yes, then we would want to know whether there is anything in the content of this text which can resolve our concerns." He hastened to add that the Left leadership understood that unless finalised, any text of an agreement between a government and an international body cannot be made public.

Maintaining that 123 agreement was "anchored in the Hyde Act", Yechury said operationalisation of this deal with the US "should not proceed till the Committee finds that all objections (of the Left) have been addressed and settled." Without taking into account the Committee's final views, the government cannot take the next step, he said referring to a decision of the UPA-Left panel to this effect.

At today's meeting, the UPA and the Left are slated to discuss the state of government's negotiations with the IAEA on safeguards agreement needed to implement the nuclear deal or the 123 agreement.

Source : PTI