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ShareNEW DELHI: Left parties are unlikely to take a decision on the future of their relationship with the government till September 18 when Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar travels to Vienna to attend the IAEA meeting.
The Left parties will be closely following Kakodkar's visit to see if he only attends the IAEA's General Assembly or discusses the safeguards agreement with the UN watchdog, CPI(M) sources said on Wednesday.
"September 18 (when Kakodkar travels to Vienna) is crucial. We will wait till then," a source said when asked how long the Left parties will wait before deciding whether or not to withdraw support to the government.
If Kakodkar discusses the Indo-US nuclear deal with IAEA, the Left parties will decide on future of the relationship, the sources said even as the party's Central Committee held deliberations to decide on future course of action.
Under the nuclear deal, India is required to negotiate a safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
Kakodkar was supposed to discuss with IAEA officials the safeguards agreement but it is not clear whether he would do so during the visit in view of the Left's demand that no step, including talks with IAEA, should be taken to operationalise the deal.
Asked how the Left parties would come to know whether Kakodkar discussed the nuclear deal, the CPI(M) sources said the government will be asked for details of the visit.
The Left parties have maintained that they have no objection to India participating at the IAEA as it was a member of the General Assembly but no discussions should be held on safeguards agreement.
Government had made it clear that there was no going back on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
