PM irked by Left blocking N-deal, set to quit

NO MEETING OF MINDS: Manmohan is ready to confront the Left on the nuclear deal.

    

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has indicated that he would resign if the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement doesn't go through.

Senior government sources have told CNN-IBN that the PM has communicated his desire to resign to Congress President Sonia Gandhi earlier in the week.

It is a move that has only intensified after his confrontation with the Left over the nuclear deal.

While the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies have publicly backed the Prime Minister on the nuclear deal, the possibility of Manmohan resigning and an early General Election has them worried.

Earlier on Thursday, there were a series of meetings to woo the allies and get them on board, even as the Left continued talking tough.

In a meeting on Thursday at the residence of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee, UPA allies urged him to find a way out of the standoff with the Left over the nuclear deal.

Sources tell CNN-IBN the UPA Government's toughening of stand - to go ahead with the nuclear deal - bypassing Left objections came about after the Prime Minister conveyed to Sonia that he will resign if the UPA didn’t take a decision now to go ahead with the deal.

The move came just ahead of the of the Left-UPA meeting which was scheduled for June 18 and then called off

The UPA allies were then roped in and all of them have over the last 48 hours made public pronouncements backing the nuclear deal. But they are also worried about their prospects in the event of an early Lok Sabha Election.

"All problems in this world can be solved by dialogue," Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said.

With pressure from the allies to find some middle ground with the Left, Mukherjee met Communist party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Buro member Sitaram Yechury and put his cards on the table.

Sources tell CNN-IBN that Mukherjee said that it wasn't possible for the government to give a public assurance de-linking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards with the nuclear deal.

But that the government also assured the Left it only wants a nod to conclude the safeguards agreement and not beyond.

And the government needed to do that soon given that IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei’s term ends in August and New Delhi is not certain how a new incumbent will approach the agreement.

"The lines are all very clear. If they go ahead we will have to reconsider our support," Sitaram Yechury had said earlier on Thursday.

Attempts to break the stalemate with the Left will continue over the next few days.

But Congress leaders say with Sonia now backing a determined Prime Minister the government will bite the bullet and India may see a winter General Election.

(With inputs from Divyamanu Chaudhary and Prarthna Gahilote)