Karat meets Maya to rock UPA boat

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and called for "cooperation" between the Left and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on the India-US nuclear deal.

"There should be coordination between the BSP and the Left parties on the issue of nuclear deal," Karat told reporters after meeting Mayawati at her residence in New Delhi. The meeting lasted for over half hour.

"We appreciate the stand taken by Mayawati on the deal," he added.

The Karat-Mayawati meeting is politically significant because it marks a formal break in ties the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has had for decades with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

"On the issue of the nuclear deal, we will carry forward our struggle against the government and we will provide all cooperation to BSP on this issue," he added.

While the Left has withdrawn support to the Congress-led government, the BSP has announced that its 17 MPs will not support the government in parliament on the nuclear deal.