NEW DELHI: Temperatures rose on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal with the CPI(M) demanding an immediate meeting of the UPA-Left Committee and issuing an ominous warning that the future of the government depends on the decision it will take on Washington's "pressure" to conclude the agreement.

As the government raised the pitch on the deal in the face of Washington's insistence on a May deadline, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat has shot off a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, government's key interlocutor with the allies on the deal, asking for convening of the meeting by March 15. CPI leader D Raja, a member of the Committee, met Karat and discussed the strategy on getting from the government its position on whether it wants to go ahead with the deal despite Left's opposition to it.

Karat's letter comes against the backdrop of reports that the text of the draft India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA is more or less ready and the Left parties would like to have a discussion on that. Significantly, the CPI(M) mouthpiece 'People's Democracy' carried an article by its 'political commentator' which said the Left parties would take "all necessary steps" to stop the government from going ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal. Maintaining that it was for the Congress leadership to decide whether it wanted to be seen as "kowtowing" to American pressure or heeding to the majority voice in Parliament, the article said the future of the UPA government depended on the decision they would take on the deal.

"It is for the Congress leadership to decide whether it wants to be seen as kowtowing to the pressure of the Bush administration or acting democratically and heeding to the voice of Parliament and the people," the article said. "The decision has to be a quick and clear one. The future of this government depends on the decision they will take," it said.

"If the government thinks that after arriving at an agreed text with the IAEA on a safeguards agreement, they can proceed to take the next steps for operationalising the agreement, they are mistaken." The article described as "unfortunate" the statements by the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister in Parliament which "continue to harp on government's efforts to go ahead with the nuclear deal".

The Left parties, it said, had clearly stated that the government cannot proceed with the finalization of the IAEA safeguards agreement and go to the Nuclear Suppliers Group "given the basic objection to the Hyde Act and the 123 agreement." A senior Left leader told PTI that "the Americans have set a deadline for the government. The Left parties will also have to set a deadline for the government. The next meeting of the UPA-Left Committee will be crucial." Karat's missive assumes significance in the context of the American deadline of May for the 123 agreement to be sent to the US Congress.

It is necessary for the government to complete the IAEA agreement by March end so that they can proceed to the Nuclear Suppliers Group for getting a waiver to do nuclear commerce with other countries. CPI leader D Raja said the government should make it clear to the Left whether it was keen on going ahead with the implementation of the deal brushing aside their opposition. In that case, the Left parties would also decide their future course of action, he added.

The Left-UPA Committee on the deal has not met since November when it gave the go ahead for negotiations with the IAEA on finalizing a draft safeguards agreement on the condition that it would not be initialed or signed. It was agreed that the draft would be brought back to the Committee for discussion and approval.