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N-deal: DMK backs Congress

June 19, 2008 17:22 IST

Pledging its support for the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the DMK, a key constituent of the ruling UPA, on Thursday said it would stand by the Congress on the issue.

The comments by the DMK spokesperson came amidst speculations that the Congress plans to go ahead with the implementation of the deal despite strong opposition from the Left.

Earlier, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad has voiced his supportĀ for the deal.

DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said that his party MP and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi had already made this point clear in the Rajya Sabha recently.

"We will support the Congress on the issue," he said. Asked whether the implementation of the deal would cause a split between the Left parties and the Congress, he said Karunanidhi had already stated that any such divisions between the UPA and the Left would only pave the way for "communal forces like the BJP".

The Congress, meanwhile, said any decision on the deal will have to be taken in unison by all the UPA alliance partners.

Noting that his party's stand on the nuclear deal was "clear", AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said the Congress feels that agreement was in the interest of the country and it could remedy the power shortage in the country.

"We should do it (clinch the deal)," Singh said as hectic parleys began across the political spectrum on the matter.

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