With the Samajwadi Party (SP) ready to step in to save the government, the UPA looked in no mood to oblige the Left which today sought to know when the Government intended to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the India-specific safeguards agreement.

Though External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was set to reply shortly to the Left’s letter, official sources said the government would not divulge the exact date of its next step on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Although the ruling camp sounded sure of securing a majority in Parliament with the help of the SP, the JD(S), the RLD and other minor parties in the event of the Left withdrawing support, it did not want to precipitate matters before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan for the G-8 summit. The issue came up for discussion at the Congress Core Group meeting on Friday evening.

With the SP spoiling their grand plans to pull down the Government, a desperate Left went into a huddle today and set a three-day deadline to the ruling coalition to spell out in clear terms whether it was proceeding to approach the IAEA Board.

The usual belligerence was missing in the three-paragraph letter that they shot off to Mukherjee. “We wish to know definitely whether the Government is proceeding to seek the approval of the safeguards agreement by the Board of Governors of the IAEA. Please let us know the position by July 7,” it said.

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