This remark assumes significance given the speculation in political circles that if the Left withdraws support, the Government could still go ahead with the deal. Such speculation was reinforced when CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said that the CPM would not be party if and when the nuclear deal went through.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Mukherjee, however, underlined that “time, no doubt, is of the essence,” and admitted that the negotiations with the IAEA, “ have taken longer than originally estimated.”

Elaborating, Mukherjee, who heads the UPA-Left Front’s coordination committee on the nuclear deal said, “We are currently engaged in negotiations with the IAEA and after that is completed, we have to again discuss with the Left leaders. After that will come amendments to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and it is difficult to say how long it will take for all this to be completed.”

The External Affairs Minister also said that opposition of the Left parties on the nuclear deal, had virtually stalled India’s chances of signing a civilian nuclear agreement with other countries at this stage.

“They (the Left parties) say you cannot have the 123 agreement with USA. You can have nuclear agreements with other countries. But that, too, is not possible because with whomever you enter into an agreement, whether it is Russia or France, you also need the India-specific safeguards and the amended NSG guidelines,” Mukherjee said.

He also spoke about the indispensability of USA as a nuclear ally. “There are 45 members of the NSG and USA is an important player. So how can you ignore the USA? These are problems India will now have to accept. So even if we forget about what the Left is saying, the fact is that if we want to do nuclear trade with any country these two things (IAEA agreement and fresh NSG guidelines) are essentially required. With the USA, we also have to sign the 123 agreement.”

Bharat Ratna for Atal: ‘PM will decide’

• On Advani’s request for Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee: “These are not matters which the Cabinet decides. It is something the Prime Minister will decide and there are set procedures for this. Earlier, it was a Congress Government which conferred the second highest award, the Padma Vibhushan on Mr Vajpayee.”

• On Taslima Nasreen: “India has a tradition of giving shelter to guests who seek shelter. Requests for political asylum are mostly accepted. So we are giving Taslima Nasreen shelter. When her visa expires (next month) we will decide what to do.”