When Sonia, Pranab rubbed eyes in disbelief

LEFT BREATHER ON NUCLEAR DEAL

It was tension all round. The Left parties had given no indication they would allow the government to move on the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made the agreement a personal prestige issue. It was a classical impasse.

Therefore, last week, when CPI(M) boss Prakash Karat met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to tell him that the government could go to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to talk about the draft of the India-specific safeguards so crucial to the nuclear deal, Mukherjee was reluctant to accept Karat's statement at face value.

In a bid to be tactful (but keep the powder dry), Mukherjee told Karat to also have a discussion with party president Sonia Gandhi. This was to ensure that the Left parties were left no deniability.

In the middle of last week, Karat sought and got an appointment with Sonia Gandhi. He told her exactly the same thing: that the government could initiate talks at the IAEA but should not sign anything until the Left parties had seen the draft.

However small, this was a breakthrough. All along the Left had been telling the government what it could not do on the nuclear deal. For the first time, they had indicated what it could do.

For the government this was a crucial step. The IAEA safeguards agreement is, from the point of view of India, the turn-of-the-screw stage in the nuclear agreement. Once this is done, the Indian government has little or no role to play in the negotiations. India is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) that regulates nuclear commerce.

That battle has to be fought on India's behalf by its benefactors, potential partners and friends through judicious lobbying. For India, winning the IAEA was equivalent to winning the war.

When Karat met Gandhi at 10 Janpath, she advised him to let the foreign minister know about the Left's new decision. This would be the correct protocol as he was the one who was heading the negotiations with the Left parties on the nuclear agreement.

Immediately after, she called Mukherjee. The two leaders cross-checked what Karat had said. The story tallied "" that the Left had agreed to allow the government to start the negotiations but without inking the final deal with the IAEA.

It became imperative for the government to place the new Left position on the record. So an emergent meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear agreement was called on November 16.

This was the same Left, which, till yesterday, wanted to be told in writing that India would not approach the IAEA.

When contacted, Mukherjee didn't confirm this account, but said, "Being the convenor of the UPA-Left nuclear committee, I can't say anything privately. Whatever decision we take will be known to you after we meet the Left leaders."

Party managers acknowledge that if the deal is saved it will be because of the good cop-bad cop turn played by Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee, who have emerged as key UPA negotiators "" with Gandhi handling the politics of it and ensuring the stability of the government; and giving Mukherjee a free hand to negotiate with the Left.