However, with the Left parties sticking to their earlier position that the government should not go ahead with negotiations with the IAEA on the operationalisation of the deal, the only concrete decision at the two-hour meeting was to schedule the next discussion on Tuesday. The two-paragraph note released after the meeting stated that the UPA-Left committee on Indo-US Civil nuclear cooperation carried forward the earlier discussions on the basis of inputs provided by both sides and the next meeting would be held on October 9.

A senior Left leader said the UPA members present in the committee sought to convince them on undertaking discussions with the IAEA on the India-specific safeguards.

“They asked us what is the harm if they carry on discussions with the IAEA on the deal as that does not imply signing a formal agreement with them. But we firmly said no and asked them to wait till the committee submits its report,” the Left leader said. In a related development, the Department of Atomic Energy has stated in Mumbai that DAE was not holding any formal talks with the IAEA.

IAEA draft
It has also not received any draft of an India-specific safeguards agreement from the IAEA.

The DAE response follows reports of the department holding informal discussions with the IAEA officials so that the draft becomes ready before the crucial meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group in the second week of November. 

Incidentally, IAEA chief Al Baradei will visit India from October 9 and he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.  However, thrashing out India-specific safeguards may not take much time as they are expected to be in the line of similar safeguard agreements, which the DAE adhered to while operating the two imported reactors in Tarapur in the 1960s and will follow in the two upcoming 1000 MW Russian reactors in Kundankulam.

The India-specific safeguards are expected to cover all existing and future civilian nuclear reactors.

The Left parties, however, said they did not have any reservation about the visit of IAEA chief per se. Maintaining that no common ground could be identified in the series of UPA-Left meetings, a senior Left leader said he was not very hopeful about the outcome of the deliberations of the joint committee and said it might recommend that the government should not proceed further without putting up the issue for discussion in Parliament.

The Left leaders reiterated their demand for raising the issue in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the convener of the committee, stating that the government was ready for a debate, provided the BJP-led Opposition allowed the House to run smoothly.