The 90-minute-meeting, which was the seventh one being held to iron out differences between the Congress-led government and their outside supporters, only decided that further talks were necessary on the issue. “It was decided to hold the next meeting in April, this year,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting.

However, a senior Left leader told Deccan Herald, “The mood of the UPA leaders has changed since the last meeting of the committee on November 16. This time they did not set any timeframe and said we can take our own time.” Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas said apart from Mr Mukherjee, UPA leaders Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram briefed the Left members about the five-month-old negotiations with the IAEA.

“They have not given us any thing in writing and in the next couple of days we will submit a note seeking clarifications on issues like uninterrupted fuel supply, conditions for termination of the agreement and they would present their case to us,” he said. He said the minister could convey to Washington that there was no political consensus on the deal.