The three-year-old UPA government is staring at early elections with the Left refusing to climb down on the question of commencing safeguards talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

On the eve of the crucial meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Left leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury are said to have told Congress President Sonia Gandhi this evening that if the BJP could keep its Hindutva issues (like the Ram Mandir) out of its “national agenda” for the sake of running a coalition, why is the Congress finding it so difficult to “delay” the nuclear deal?

At a meeting with the Congress President at 10, Janpath, the CPM leaders claimed they were being reasonable by merely insisting on delaying matters, rather than asking for scrapping of the deal.

While Sonia reportedly gave them a “patient hearing,” raising hopes among the Left that she was “receptive,” Congress sources later told The Indian Express that the call for delaying implementation effectively means “killing” the nuclear deal which was unacceptable to the ruling party. The Congress president told the Left that she would get back after talking to her party, which she did in the Core Committee meeting that was any how scheduled to discuss the political situation in Karnataka in the wake of Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s decision to finally resign.

Sonia had also called on President Pratibha Patil earlier in the day fuelling speculation but the party downplayed it calling it a “routine” meeting where she briefed her on her trip to the United Nations.

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