New Delhi, Nov 4, SPA -- India has decided to go aheadwith joint exercises planned between the Air Forces of Indiaand US in West Bengal in the country's east from Novemberseven despite opposition from Left wing parties. The decision comes after a late night meeting of theCabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday followed by ameeting between India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh andDefense Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday morning andconsultations held with West Bengal Chief Minister BuddhadebBhattacharya and central leaders of the Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) in Delhi. Announcing the decision to go ahead with the exercisesplanned in Kalaikunda Air Base near Kolkata, Mukherjee toldreporters Friday that "everything has been sorted out". Some senior ministers were also present at the meetingFriday morning which discussed the situation arising out ofthe planned protests of Left parties against the Indo-USexercises, according to a report of the Press Trust of India. Mukherjee said Thursday evening there were discussionswith West Bengal Chief Minister and central leaders of theCPI-M when a request was made to the state government to makenecessary security arrangements so that the exercises couldtake place. He said they were routine exercises which were being heldfor the last four-five years and were nothing new. The Defense Minister also said that peacefuldemonstration was the right of a political party and they canhold demonstrations but it should be peaceful. The CPI(M), which heads ruling Left Front in West Bengal,had earlier announced that nearly 30 lakh (three million) Left Front activistswould demonstrate statewide on November seven. The Left parties, including the CPI(M), CPI, RSP andForward Bloc issued a joint statement on Thursday opposing theair exercise. "The deepening military collaboration (between India andUS) does not augur well for India's strategic interests andindependent foreign policy", the statement said. --SPA1334 Local Time 1034 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/300546