Left to have 6 leaders on the committee

The composition of the committee to allay the Left parties' concerns over the India-United States nuclear deal is likely to be announced on Monday even as a senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said on Sunday that the outside supporters of UPA would be represented by six leaders in the panel.

CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters in Kolkata that the Left will have six members in the committee and "those Left leaders who regularly attend the UPA-Left coordination committee meetings will be representing the Left parties at the committee."

Those who regularly attend coordination committee meetings are Yechury, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat, his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan, CPI Secretary D Raja, Forward Bloc General Secretary Debabrata Biswas and RSP leader Abani Roy.

The Congress Core Committee is also likely to meet on Monday to decide on its representatives in the crucial panel which is likely to be headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Leaders of UPA constituents -- RJD, DMK and NCP -- are also likely to be part of the panel, which could have 16 members, the sources said.

The committee would examine the implication of the Hyde Act on the 123 agreement as well as its impact on the country's nuclear self-sufficiency, foreign policy and security.

The nuclear deal would be debated in Parliament tentatively on September 10-11 without any voting subject to the availability of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.