Emerging from the meeting today, Basu spoke of “concessions” from the Central government on the nuclear deal and said they were ready to give the Congress some time to decide.

Asked what they would do if the Congress rejected the Left’s demand, Basu said: “We will see if they can give some concessions. Then we will decide.”

At a briefing in New York on Friday, Boucher said there was no timeline for operationalising the nuclear deal. “We will deal with it as it comes. We’ll deal with it in terms of the opportunities that are there when India is ready to move forward.”

Acknowledging the Left opposition to the deal in India, Boucher added: “We’ll leave it to the Indians to work their way through the current political discussion in Delhi.”

Today, the CPM patted itself on the back for the statement, with its Bengali mouthpiece Ganashakti highlighting it alongside a report on the proceedings of Saturday’s Central Committee meeting where Basu held out the threat. “Left’s opposition forced the US to take time on the issue,” commented the paper.

The Central Committee members openly called Boucher’s statement a victory for the Left. “We put pressure on the UPA government and Boucher’s statement is a reflection of that,” said Sukomal Sen.

The US Assistant Secretary of State’s remarks would also help the CPM’s West Bengal camp withstand the hardline stand taken by the party’s central leadership on the deal. The state leaders are not in favour of the CPM forcing a general election over the issue.

As a senior Central Committee member said today: “The US itself is urging India to take its time to operationalise the deal. So why the hurry to push the UPA to the wall?”

Sources say Basu took a strong stand against the hardliners at today’s meeting following a detailed phone conversation with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The two discussed Mukherjee’s US visit and his talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.