PTI

CHENNAI/KOLKATA, Sep 5: The Left parties on Tuesday gave a stern warning to the government not to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal till a proposed committee comes out with its findings as they hit the streets to oppose a multi-nation naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal also involving American warships.

"This government is a minority government. It exists only with the support of parties like us. So it should not go ahead with the agreement," CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat told a public meeting organised by the Left in Chennai ahead of a protest march to Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

"Do not proceed with the agreement. When the agreement comes for debate in Parliament, you will find that a majority of members are against it," he warned.

The UPA should not proceed with the deal until a proposed committee, which would study the Left's concerns on the issue, examined the matter and took a decision, Karat asserted.

Launching an attack against the UPA for its 'tilt' towards the US in its foreign policy, he said this went against the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

The CMP did not contain a single word about a strategic alliance with the US and the Left 'would not have supported the UPA if there was such a word', Karat said.

The government should not go ahead with the deal until Parliament discussed the implications of the Hyde Act of the US, which controlled that country's nuclear dealings with others, he said.

In Kolkata, CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu flagged off another rally to Visakhapatnam and accused the UPA of putting the country into the US fold. CPI general secretary AB Bardhan warned the government it would have to face the consequences if it ignored concerns expressed by the communists about the nuclear deal.