Karat and (below) Pranab

New Delhi, March 10: Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee has held talks with CPM leader Prakash Karat, laying the ground for a possible meeting of the UPA-Left nuclear deal panel on March 17.

The parleys between Mukherjee and Karat took place last night against the backdrop of the CPM general secretary setting a March 15 deadline for the next meeting on the nuclear deal. Karat had written to the foreign minister, listing the demands.

“We discussed only the date of meeting,” Karat told The Telegraph, refusing to divulge details of the meeting with the government’s key interlocutor on the deal.

But sources said Mukherjee also updated Karat on the outcome of the IAEA safeguards agreement talks and that the minister would have a closer look at the draft of the pact today or tomorrow.

The sources added that the external affairs minister briefed Karat the “same way” he discussed the deal with CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury on February 29.

Although Mukherjee wanted to meet Karat on the issue, the CPM general secretary was busy with the central committee meeting of the party which ended yesterday afternoon. Karat went to Mukherjee’s house after that.

The sources said the warm-up exercise was aimed at updating Karat on the IAEA safeguards agreements, which will be discussed at length at the next meeting of the UPA-Left committee on March 17 — two days after Karat’s deadline for the meeting expires.

The government was finding it difficult to fix a convenient date for the meeting before March 15. Although the government initially shortlisted March 13, Yechury will not be available on that date.

While Karat is occupied on March 14, Mukherjee, who is also the convener of the committee, will not be in the capital on March 15. It was then decided that the meeting could be scheduled for March 17.

CPM sources said the meeting, though it is scheduled two days past Karat’s deadline, would meet the immediate objective of getting a clear answer on the intent of the government on the nuclear deal before Mukherjee leaves for Washington on March 23-24.

The CPM iterated today that the party was against the operationalisation of the deal and was waiting to hear from the government about the next meeting.

“The Left parties stand firm against the operationalisation of the nuclear deal,” Yechury said.

Rahul on polls

Rahul Gandhi said in Bhubaneswar that “to my knowledge”, general elections would be held on time.

“I don’t think there will be early elections. To my knowledge, elections will be held on time,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of the UPA government falling because of the nuclear deal, Rahul said: “The Prime Minister has already stated that the government is talking to various allies on the issue.”