No threat to government on nuclear deal: Mukherjee

Amritsar, June 28 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today claimed there was no immediate threat to the UPA-government despite opposition of the Left parties to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

" There is no political crisis, talks are still on with the Left on the deal", he said while talking to mediapersons after the inaguration of the Regional Passport Office here.

" We do not have to immediately sign the nuclear deal", he said while pointing out that the draft of the deal has to go through various stages before India puts its signature.

The External Affairs minister did not agree with the statement of CPM secretary Parkash Karat that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was responsible for the current 'political crisis' in the country. " The PM took all the UPA allies into confidence before going ahead with nuclear deal", he added.

When questioned about the infiltration of nationals of Bangladesh into India, the minister acknowledged that the Eastern border was 'soft' but added that strict vigil was being maintained. There are around three crore Bangladesh nationals in India and the security agencies are keeping a watch on their activities, he added.

Turning to the Western border with Pakistan, Mr Mukherjee hoped that with the ongoing Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), the situation would improve on this front.

UNI XC-HS BP1707