Karat gives UPA a dose of hard talk

Thiruvananthapuram: He is the Left's man of the moment.

Prakash Karat, the general secretary of Communist Party of India ? Marxist (CPI-M), many believe, is the man who is directing his party's hardline stance on the UPA.

That's not surprising since Karat has spelt out on several ocassions that he and his party will take on the UPA on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.

Karat said that Natwar Singh as the foreign minister had earlier promised the Left parties of a consensus before the voting.

But now, since Natwar Singh has lost the protfolio, the government should make it clear who will talk to the Left on the issue before the voting.

Karat, who is campaigning for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha by-poll, said the UPA government was a "necessary experiment."

The experiment was not a failure and the coalition could arrive at an understanding on many schemes like the rural employment guarantee scheme.

On Tuesday, he said that the Indian government should make its stand clear on the Iran issue before it goes to vote in the UN on the 24th.

If the government takes a very tough stand or votes against Iran at the UN, then the left parties would raise the issue at the Parliament during the winter session, he added.

"India voted against Iran on September 24 for no reason except that the US pressurised us. If the Indian government takes a stand against Iran at the next IAEA meeting, the Left will raise the matter in Parliament," he said.

Sources in the CPI-M say not everyone in the party is happy with Karat's way of taking the UPA head on. But, with the Left preparing to raise the Iran issue in Parliament, one thing is clear - Prakash clearly Karat is in command.