'Govt not to proceed on N-deal if Left withdraws'

New Delhi, Jan 13: Amid hopes of conclusion of talks with IAEA next week, government has said that it will not "like to" proceed with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal if the Left withdraws support, but noted that pullout of the agreement will have "some adverse impact" on Indias standing in the world.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected suggestions that the UPA Government"s capacity to operationalise the deal has weakened after the Congress" debacle in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. He made it clear that the government will not have the capacity to proceed with the deal if it plunges into a minority.

"We would not like to proceed with the deal if the Left parties withdraw support from the government," he told in a television programme.

He, however, emphasised that if India pulls out of the deal, it will have "some adverse impact" on the country"s standing at the international level.

Mukherjee dubbed as "absolutely hypothetical" when asked what the government would do if a satisfactory bargain was achieved at the IAEA talks, but Left parties still maintained their opposition.

"... Before we went to the IAEA, their (Left) position was that don"t proceed further (on the deal). From that position we have improved something," he said.

Asked whether it meant that the government would be able to "push" the Left, he replied: "it is not a question of pushing. It is a question of accepting the ground reality as and when it unfolds. Let us wait and see."

India hopes to conclude the negotiations on safeguards agreement with the IAEA during the talks next week after which the UPA-Left committee will discuss the draft.

ANI