CPI-M to review govt support after polls

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said his party hoped success in state elections this month would give it more influence on the foreign and economic policies of the Congress party-led coalition.

Karat said the government had "shot itself in the foot" by agreeing a landmark civil nuclear deal with the United States, which he said was likely to come with many strings attached.

"It means that Americans expect you to have a quid pro quo on other issues, not just nuclear power," Karat told Reuters in an interview in his spartan office.

"We are apprehensive that this agreement will become the basis for a wider strategic alliance and, you will have to fall in line with the United States on many key issues."