New Delhi, June 24: Prakash Karat and Mulayam Singh Yadav today spoke about the nuclear deal on phone, ahead of tomorrow’s UPA-Left committee meeting.

The talks took place against the backdrop of the buzz that Mulayam’s 39 Samajwadi Party MPs could bail out the government if the Congress decided to push ahead with the deal.

Mulayam told Karat that the United Progressive Alliance partners, of which Samajwadis are a part, will meet on July 3 to firm up their stand on the pact, sources said.

Karat stuck to his position. “Our stand remains the same. The government should not go to the IAEA board of governors.” The Left parties have said they would withdraw support if the Centre pressed ahead with the deal. Mulayam was in Delhi today but didn’t meet Karat.

Some Left leaders suggested they saw a “determination on the part of the government to go ahead with the deal” but said they would wait for tomorrow’s meeting to hear what it had eventually decided.

There could be another meeting on June 28, depending on whether Congress needed more time to make up its mind, Left sources said, but ruled out talks between Karat and foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee before tomorrow’s 5pm meeting.

So far, however, the sources said there was no sign of “compromise” — allowing the Centre to go to the IAEA board.

Any proposal to break the stalemate would have to be worked out within this stance, the sources added.