Deal to be operationalised after trust vote: Sonia

New Delhi, Jul 11: While regretting the Left's decision to withdraw support over the nuclear deal, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday, July 12 said the Government would stand by the Prime Minister's pledge that the Indo-US nuclear deal would be operationalised only after taking Parliament into confidence.

In her opening remarks at the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Co-ordination Committee meeting at Prime Minister's residence here, she said that before the Left parties withdrew their support, ''the Prime Minister had said that he would not operationalise the agreement without taking Parliament into confidence. We stand by the pledge.'' Ms Gandhi informed the UPA constituents that the PM had handed over a letter to President Pratibha Patil yesterday asking her to convene a special Parliament session at the earliest.

The letter was handed to the President, she said, ''in keeping with the highest traditions of democracy and our Constitution''.

The Union Cabinet tonight will decide the date for the Special Session and the date will be communicated to the President, Leader of House in the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting. He said all the UPA constituents were united and there was no confusion. Sources, however, indicate that date of the vote of confidence would be either July 22 or 23.

Ms Gandhi appreciated the role played by the Left parties in extending support to the government for the last four years, but regretted that it could not carry on for the nuclear deal. She also thanked the Samajwadi Party for supporting the UPA at this crucial juncture.

Railway Minister and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad said the Left parties had left the UPA under their own compulsions and confusion. ''We are all together to face the situation,'' he said.

UNI