As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that the government would move the International Atomic Energy Agency "very soon" to seal the safeguards agreement added fuel to the fire, Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas said the Left parties would withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government on July 10, the day when a meeting of the UPA-Left Committee has been convened.
While Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat declined to make any immediate comment on Singh's statement, CPI national secretary D Raja said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's suggestion for a UPA-Left meeting and the prime minister's statements were "contradictory".
"The Prime Minister has put Mukherjee and the UPA-Left panel in a ridiculous position. The UPA-Left meeting has become meaningless now. Mukherjee should explain why he invited the Left parties for the meeting to finalise the Committee's findings if the government has already decided to move the IAEA. The Prime Minister should have some respect for the Committee."
On Singh's statement that he was ready to face Parliament for a trial of strength, Raja said "If PM thinks he can manipulate the numbers, let him prove it on the floor of the House. What sort of ethics is he trying to project?"
Asked to comment on Singh's statements on his way to the G-8 Summit, Karat told PTI "We will reply to (Mukherjee's) letter on Tuesday and decide our future course of action."
In Kolkata, Biswas said the Left parties would submit their letter withdrawing support to the UPA government to President Pratibha Patil on July 10, a day after Singh returns from Japan.
