Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi alleged that the CPM was against the Indo-US nuclear deal because it did not want India to have an edge over China."The CPM does not want India to go for the nuclear deal. But they do not have any objection to China going for the deal. Can they not be called agents?" Dasmunsi said at the 55th anniversary celebration of Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of Congress.Recalling that the CPM had opposed the move by the Rajiv Gandhi government to introduce computers in the country, Dasmunshi said the CPM-led government in West Bengal was now wooing IT companies in the state."The CPM has opposed India signing the GATT treaty and inclusion in the WTO. Now, even China has entered WTO and wants most favoured nation status from the US," he said, adding that since inclusion in the WTO, India's exports had increased by 12 times and was the second largest in the world after Japan.Asserting that the nuke deal was absolutely necessary to meet India's energy requirement by 2012, he said the deal had been struck with the US after some scouting as it was found to have the required technology."Does the deal mean that we cannot make nuclear bombs? The answer is, we can. No one can influence our military strategy. The only condition is that we cannot send our reactors to any other country," he said.Stating that the nuclear deal had been endorsed by former president A P J Abdul Kalam and the country's scientific community, Dasmunsi accused the CPI(M) of trying to confuse the people about the deal.Taking a dig at the CPI(M) for describing the deal as "imperialist", Dasmunsi said during the Pakistani incursions in Kashmir in 1948, the communists were busy describing India's newly-won Independence as "false"."During the Chinese aggression in 1962, the communists did not even acknowledge it as an aggression. When India fought with Pakistan in 1971 to free pro-liberation leader Mujibur Rahman and to create Bangladesh, the communists had no role in it," he said.AICC General Secretary Janardan Pujari said incidents in Singur and Nandigram demonstrated a reign of terror in West Bengal and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been criticised even by his own party leaders for failing to tackle the situation politically."If such a reign of terror prevails in West Bengal what will happen to democracy? If you look at what is happening in the state, you will find that it is the beginning of the end of the Left Front government," he claimed.Others who spoke on the occasion included Congress leaders Pradip Bhattacharya and Subrata Mukherjee. Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to attend, but could not do so owing to the cabinet meeting in Delhi today and sent his message to the students. A message, wishing the gathering success, was also sent by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
