NEWS

No progress in N-deal talks: Yechury

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
August 20, 2007 15:10 IST

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, who had an hour-long meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the latter's chamber in Parliament House, said there has been no forward movement in the nuclear deal issue.

Suresh Pauchari, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, and Kamal Nath, minister for commerce and trade, also attended the meeting.

Yechury denied that the government had given him a list of members who would constitute the mechanism to work out the middle path between the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties.

"How can we respond? No names have been communicated to us formally," he said as he walked at a brisk pace towards his vehicle.

The Left parties are meeting at 4 pm to formalise their response to the government's statement on Sunday night where the constitutents of UPA alliance announced their solidarity with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, chairpeprson of the alliance.

Mukherjee refused to answer questions from newspersons.

Dr Sanjay Baru, information advisor to prime minister, said Dr Singh was unlikely to intervene in the discussion on the nuclear deal, should it take place.

"The external affairs minister will reply to the questions," he said.

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Recommended by Rediff.com

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email