With the ongoing battle and debate over the Indo-US nuclear deal with the two parties under the UPA government, Congress and CPI-M, speculation about early polls has been given up by the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He made it clear that the survival of the government was more important than the Indo-US nuclear deal and Left parties will have to be taken on board.

However, Mukherjee ruled out the possibility of a minority government signing the nuclear agreement, saying the US was not ready for it. He also said that India had not conducted negotiations on the agreement with a ''fixed timeline'', in an apparent response to the US, which has set the deadline of May.

''We are trying to evolve a consensus and first the consensus will be with the supporting parties because that is primary importance for which the (UPA-Left) mechanism was created. Then we shall try to evolve a larger consensus,'' he said in an interview.

“The government will have to discuss the India-IAEA safeguards agreement with the Left but declined to elaborate,” Mukherjee said.

He also confirmed, ''What the Congress president says is the final word of the party and what the prime minister says is the final word of the government.''

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS No comments yet