Karat hopes UPA coalition would last its full term

Appearing in a public platform, Karat did not make any reference to the stand-off on the Indo-US nuclear deal, but made a veiled reference to the issue reminding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he had earlier said that UPA was not a one-issue government.

Inaugurating a seminar on OBC reservation here, he spoke of commercialisation of education and asked organisations like Students Federation of India to counter such trends. "All this I am speaking hoping that the government will continue its full term. We are trying to make serious efforts. Sometime back, the Prime Minister has said that we are not a one-issue government," Karat said.

The CPI(M) leader's comments come against the backdrop of the Left parties' serious opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal in the context of government's determination to push it ahead at the IAEA. "We hope that the government will fulfil its commitments," the CPI(M) leader said.

While the Left have threatened to withdraw support if the government took the next step to finalise the India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA, the UPA partners have come out supporting the deal with a rider that any decision on it should not lead to early elections.