Honeymoon over, but marriage can go on: Prakash Karat

Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday appeared to play down strident remarks of another Left party CPI that the honeymoon with United Progressive Alliance government was over and it was time to withdraw support.

Before the CPI-M politburo went into a huddle to discuss the crisis arising out of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's challenge to the Left parties to withdraw support to the government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat remarked, "The honeymoon may be over, but the marriage can go on."

This sharply contrasted CPI general secretary A B Bardhan's remarks on Thursday night that the "honeymoon" between UPA and Left was over and withdrawal of support to the Central government appeared "inevitable."

The politburo meeting began in Delhi to take a final view on its strategy in Parliament following its opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of the CPI-M rejecting the civil nuclear deal with the US and asking the government not to operationalise it.

The two-day politburo meeting is likely to plan out a series of protest actions against the government's economic and foreign policies.

The CPI-M meeting also comes in the backdrop of the CPI demand that the Left parties should "redefine" their relationship with the UPA and distance themselves from the ruling coalition.

A meeting of the CPI's central secretariat later on Friday is expected to review the political situation in the context of the nuclear deal.