The Communist Party of India Marxist on Wednesday said that efforts were on to reach a consensus with the United Progressive Alliance government over the India-United States nuclear agreement in the next two rounds of talks.
CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters in Bhopal on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong in Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's reference to the Left's concerns about the deal in her speech in New York.
"She has said nothing wrong. She said there are issues (relating to the deal) on which discussions are going on. We have to respect different views," Karat said.
Speaking at a gathering of Indian-Americans in New York on Monday, Gandhi had sought to play down the Left Front's concerns about the deal, saying they were not a cause for alarm.
Karat admitted that differences did exist between the allies and said, "We are trying to reach a consensus."
He added, "The committee will be meeting on October 5, when the date for the next meeting will also be decided. We are trying to arrive at a consensus in the next two meetings."
Karat was in Bhopal to attend a condolence meet organised in the memory of Madhya Pradesh CPI-M Secretary B S Dhakad.
On his party's stand on the nuclear agreement, the CPI-M leader said, "The party had made it clear during its recent Central Committee meeting that the government should not take the next step on the deal. Any move should be made only after discussions in Parliament."
To a specific query, the senior Communist leader said "It (Left's stand on the deal) is not pressure politics. The deal is an important question before the nation."
"We are entering into an agreement for 40 years. We believe the deal is not in the interest of the country," he added.