| The much-awaited meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear agreement may be held this month, possibly before External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee leaves for the US on March 23. |
| The government had promised to show the Left parties a draft of the India-specific safeguards agreement with global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for clearance. |
| The Indian negotiators, who are holding talks with the IAEA in Vienna, are expected to return with the draft later this week and the government will invite the Left for further discussions after scrutinising the text. |
| Government managers said they would seek the Left's concurrence to take the negotiations forward to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), the 40-member group of nations that controls supply of uranium in the world. |
| The government has been arguing that the agreement can take shape only after talks with the NSG. The IAEA agreement and the NSG assurances will not only draw the outlines of the agreement but will also be the currency with which similar agreements with Russia, Germany and France can be conducted, government managers say. |
| A large section of the Congress is doubtful of the political benefit that the conclusion of the agreement can yield. |
| "The prime minister is keen to see that the deal materialises," said a party manager. The government, meanwhile, plans to make it clear to the US that it cannot comply with any "deadline". "We have our own domestic compulsions," it said in a statement. |
| Mukherjee, who is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on March 25, told Business Standard: "We will not topple our own government and go for a vote. However, if an ally or a supporting party pulls down our government, there will be no choice but to go for elections." |
| "We don't want to be perceived by our voters as ending the term of our own government," he added. He refused to comment on the timing of the election. |
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