New Delhi, July 6
Even as the deadline given by the Left parties on the nuclear issue is nearing, the government was yet to give a response till tonight to the Left plea to inform before tomorrow on what it planned to do on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

“Not yet, I don’t know, I can’t tell you. You will come to know,” external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said late tonight when asked whether the government had responded to the Left ultimatum.

The Congress earlier kept the suspense going whether it would respond by tomorrow.

“It is for senior leader Pranab Mukherjee to reply. He will reply in an appropriate manner,” was all AICC media department chairperson Veerappa Moily would say.

In a rebuff to the Left, the Congress, leading the UPA coalition, has already rejected the Monday ultimatum contending sovereign governments or political parties cannot be subjected to deadlines.

The Left wanted to know by Monday whether the government was intending to approach the IAEA to seal the India-specific safeguards agreement.

The party top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi have already held detailed consultations after the Left ultimatum.

The Congress has remained unfazed by the Left action and maintained that the nuclear deal is in the national interest. — PTI