New Delhi:The CPI(M) and the CPI on Tuesday said former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale's claim that the Left parties were influenced by China in their decision to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal was 'baseless' and amounted to 'slander'.
In his book 'The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India', Gokhale has said that China used its 'close connections with the Left parties in India to “build domestic opposition” to the Indo-US nuclear deal. He also said top leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) would travel to China for meetings or medical treatment, suggesting that discussions on the deal were held during such trips.
Asked about Gokhale's claim, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said 'extraterritorial loyalties' of the Left are a well-known fact.
Rejecting Gokhale's claim, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told PTI, 'The Left parties had opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal because it was an agreement which would have compromised India's strategic autonomy and independent foreign policy. It was a deal initiated by the United States to get India aboard military and strategic alliance. It had no real value for India's energy security. More than a decade later, events have confirmed this.' He further said that there has been no expansion of 'even a megawatt of civilian nuclear power' in the country.
'All that has happened is that India has become a subordinate ally of the United States with close military ties,' he said.
'The Left parties took this stand keeping in mind the concern for India's sovereignty and strategic independence. It had nothing to do with China. The Left parties took such a stand even though China eventually supported the exemption given by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to India.