Although the UPA constituents stood by the Government on the merits of the deal, many of them including the RJD, the LJP, and the DMK, did not want it to be the reason for the collapse of the government, said sources.

At today’s meeting, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made yet another attempt to convince the Left that talks with the IAEA should be allowed to proceed and that the Government would show the text of the safeguards agreement to the Left before signing it.

The Left, however, rejected the proposal again with a senior Left leader warning that the ruling combine should not “sacrifice” the Government at the “altar” of the nuclear deal. At this point Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav intervened saying, “Where is the need of election?”

Mukherjee said that the NDA had completed six years and if the UPA could not complete even five years, it would send a wrong signal to the people. To this, Yechury said that the NDA had dropped the three contentious Hindutva issues that were close to the BJP’s heart to run the coalition. The Left leaders had given the same arguments at their meeting with Sonia yesterday.

After the meeting, the two sides issued a statement saying that talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and the committee would meet again on October 22. “The members shared in detail their perceptions on various aspects of the cooperation agreement between India and the US. Discussions were also initiated on the implications of the nuclear agreement on foreign policy and security cooperation,” said Mukherjee. He later briefed the Congress Core Group.

... contd.