Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Japan today his government will be approaching the IAEA "very soon", government managers said the formal approach will be made only after a floor test.
A senior minister said, "Going to the IAEA when the government has lost one significant ally and an unproven majority will handicap our case in Vienna."
Meanwhile, news agencies report that the IAEA has fixed July 28 as the date for a meeting of the IAEA board of governors to consider India's case.
"The main consideration here is the fact that countries opposed to India going ahead with the nuclear deal without signing the nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), like China, Pakistan and Australia, may create problems at the IAEA if the government does not renew its mandate in Parliament," said the source.
"Domestic opposition too will ensure that the government is embarrassed if it does not clear a floor test," added the source.
If the special session is held, a question arises over whether a normal monsoon session, due in the last week of July, will be held at all.
"A combined monsoon-winter session will probably be held later, after this abbreviated special session," said the minister. Usually, the government informs the President of India of the likely dates for a session, and the President is supposed to give three weeks notice to call a session.
However, under the previous National Democratic Alliance and UPA governments this three-week notice period has been shortened several times.
Once the government has cleared a floor test, it cannot be asked to prove its majority again for the next six months, a fact that favours the government.
